BAFTA Racism Row: Warner Bros. Demands BBC Censor Slur!

The fallout from Sunday night's BAFTA Film Awards continues, and it's getting messy. Warner Bros. apparently wasted no time in raising serious concerns after a racial slur, directed at the stars of the film "Sinners," was uttered during the live recording. Word is, they wanted it gone before the broadcast hit the airwaves.

BAFTA Racism Row: Warner Bros. Demands BBC Censor ...

According to Deadline's sources, Warner Bros. executives contacted BAFTA almost immediately after the incident, which involved Tourette's advocate John Davidson apparently experiencing a verbal tic that included the N-word. The studio was reportedly assured their concerns would be passed on to the BBC and Penny Lane TV, the production company behind the ceremony. Remember, the broadcast was on a two-hour delay, plenty of time to make edits.

BAFTA confirmed they had conversations with Warner Bros. following the incident. However, they clammed up when asked if those concerns were actually relayed to the BBC and Penny Lane. BAFTA did issue a public apology on Monday, acknowledging the "very offensive language" and taking "full responsibility" for the situation. But notably, they didn't address why the slur wasn't cut from the BBC broadcast in the first place.

Penny Lane declined to comment on the situation, but sources say the production company insists the crew in the control room didn't hear Davidson's outburst. The BBC is backing that version of events, also declining to comment officially. Warner Bros., however, is reportedly not buying it. A source close to the studio considered the explanation "inadequate" considering the severity of the concerns they raised on the night. It's not a great look for anyone involved.

What's more, even if we accept that the broadcast crew missed it, sources who were actually *in* the Royal Festival Hall auditorium say Davidson's interruption was clearly audible. This raises the question: why wasn't an urgent message sent to the gallery? As one senior independent producer put it to Deadline, "For their story to be true, it means that nobody in the room mentioned it to the BBC or BAFTA in the two hours between the incident and it airing. That's just not possible." It definitely strains credulity.

The BBC eventually pulled the BAFTA broadcast from iPlayer on Monday morning, some 15 hours after it initially aired. As of Tuesday morning, the ceremony was still unavailable as the Beeb presumably worked on editing out the offensive material. A BBC spokesperson stated they were aware some viewers "may have heard strong and offensive language" stemming from "involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome." They apologized for not editing it out prior to broadcast and said the version on iPlayer would be updated. But is that enough?

The situation is now attracting attention from British lawmakers. Labour MP Dawn Butler has written to BBC boss Tim Davie, demanding transparency regarding the incident. "The BBC could have prevented this, given that the programme was aired on a two-hour delay," Butler wrote. "It is disappointing that this language was not removed prior to transmission." Exactly.