Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku has said that the N-word incident at the Baftas “tainted” her celebration and “kept [her] awake at night”. The actor, who won best supporting actress at the ceremony, was speaking in Los Angeles on Sunday at the Actor awards, where Sinners won best cast.
Mosaku said: “It was incredibly painful to have that celebration kind of really tainted for me.” Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson shouted a number of slurs at the Baftas on 22 February, including the N-word, while Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage. The slur was audible on the BBC’s broadcast, which was later removed from iPlayer.
Mosaku said she had “no hard feeling toward John Davidson at all – he has a condition”. However, she criticised Bafta, saying it “felt exploitative and performative to have someone there without the full protection of everyone”. She also condemned the BBC, saying: “That’s the bit that really kind of kept me awake at night and brought tears to my eyes. I was like, you really chose to keep that in. I can’t understand it and I’m not sure I can forgive it.”
The BBC apologised twice, with chief content officer Kate Phillips saying she was “so sorry that a racial slur was not edited out of our broadcast” and announcing a fast-track investigation. Sources at the BBC said producers “didn’t hear” the slur, while Sinners studio Warner Bros said they had immediately notified Bafta. According to Deadline, Bafta also reported the incident to the BBC and asked for the broadcast to be removed from iPlayer.
