EXCLUSIVE: Amid ongoing reviews into the debacle that led to a racial slur at the BAFTA Film Awards airing on British television, Deadline hears of a difficult meeting between Warner Bros. and the BBC.
Three sources familiar with the encounter said Sinners studio Warner Bros. expressed grave concerns over the BBC broadcasting John Davidson’s involuntary N-word interruption when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage.
Warner Bros. executives are said to have pressed the BBC for answers about why the racial slur made the final cut, despite the BAFTAs being recorded two hours before broadcasting on television. Questions were also raised about why the incident remained on iPlayer for 15 hours, even though the BBC was aware that the N-word was audible.
Warner Bros demanded to know what steps the BBC will take to prevent a similar incident from happening again. “They were furious,” said one person briefed on the encounter, which took place last week. Warner executives had initially sought a meeting with the BBC on the Monday following the ceremony, but were left frustrated when the gathering did not materialize.
Senior sources at the BBC have acknowledged that the N-word error was avoidable, and the broadcaster has formally apologized in a statement, in which it said the incident was a “serious mistake.” The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit is currently carrying out a “fast-tracked investigation” into what took place.
BAFTA has launched its own review. In addition to the BBC meeting, Warner Bros. has been in regular dialogue with the arts charity, raising serious concerns about its handling of the matter. Studio executives also confronted BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip and chair Sara Putt at the post-show dinner.
Miscommunication Led To Mistake
Deadline has pieced together different accounts, and it appears as though the incident stemmed from miscommunication on the night. The BBC and producer Penny Lane TV did not hear the racial slur from their position in the outside broadcast truck, but later caught and cut a second incident, in which Davidson again said the N-word when Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku collected her Supporting Actress prize.
On a WhatsApp group chat, a BAFTA representative raised the alarm about an N-word being audible, but sources said that this was only after Mosaku had left the stage. The BBC and producer Penny Lane TV received BAFTA’s message, but assumed it referred to the Mosaku incident, rather than the slur directed at Jordan and Lindo, meaning they thought the N-word had already been cut.
Wunmi Mosaku attends the BAFTA Film Awards 2026
It was only after the awards were broadcast on BBC One that all parties realized that the Jordan and Lindo incident had been missed. Discussions took place on the night, during which it was raised that the ceremony should be removed from iPlayer. Instead, the show remained on the streaming service until nearly midday on Monday, despite pleading from BAFTA and Warner Bros.
The sluggish response to removing the ceremony from iPlayer will likely fall under the scope of the BBC review. It is not clear when the BBC will publish its findings, but the corporation has a deadline of March 9 to answer questions about the debacle posed by UK Parliament’s influential Culture, Media and Sport Committee. An edited version of the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony has still not been reinstated to iPlayer nearly two weeks after the event.
The BBC has also faced criticism from Davidson, with the campaigner telling Variety that it could have done more to stop his involuntary racial slur from airing. Lisa Nandy, the UK culture secretary, has also voiced concern, saying in a statement: “Broadcasting a racial slur is completely unacceptable and harmful. The BBC must ensure that this never happens again.”
Warner Bros. and the BBC declined to comment.