BBC apologises after racial slur aired from BAFTAs audience member with Tourette syndrome - while political speech is edited down

The BBC has issued an apology after a racial slur was heard during last night's broadcast of the BAFTA Film Awards from Royal Festival Hall last night (Sunday 22 February).

The comments were made by an audience member who suffers from a form of Tourette’s syndrome that includes uncontrollable vocal tics, while Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award of the night.

BAFTAs host Alan Cumming addressed the incident shortly afterwards, explaining to viewers: "You may have noticed some strong language in the background.

"This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film [I Swear] explores that experience. Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone."

I Swear, which won two awards on the night, is based on the true story of a man living with a form of Tourette's which includes coprolalia, defined as involuntary swearing or the utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks.

Later in the ceremony, the presenter provided further context. He said: "Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you are offended tonight."

A BBC spokesperson told Radio Times: "Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional.

“We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer."

The decision of the BBC to air the remarks has come under scrutiny. The ceremony is broadcast on a two-hour delay rather than live – meaning there was an option to edit out the slurs.

This criticism has been exacerbated due to the fact that other parts of the ceremony were censored. The acceptance speech of Akinola Davies Jr – who won the award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer category for his film My Father's Shadow – was significantly cut.

During his speech, Davies Jr drew attention to various geopolitical issues and dedicated his award to "all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children."

He added: "To the economic migrant. The conflict migrant. Those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution, and those experiencing genocide. You matter. Your stories matter more than ever. Your dreams are an act of resistance to those watching at home.

"Archive your loved ones. Archive your stories yesterday, today, and forever. For Nigeria, for London, the Congo, Sudan, free Palestine."

This entire part of the speech was omitted from the BBC's broadcast, with the corporation issuing a statement explaining that the decision was "made to ensure the programme was delivered to time".

The statement read: "The live event is three hours and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on-air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night."

Meanwhile, it was also made clear that all winners' speeches would be available to watch in full via BAFTA's YouTube channel.

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