Actor Wunmi Mosaku has said that her Bafta win for best supporting actress was 'tainted' by an incident in which a racial slur was shouted during the ceremony. The 'Sinners' star said the BBC's failure to edit out the slur 'kept me awake at night' and 'brought tears to my eyes'.
Speaking at the Actor awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, Mosaku said the incident on 22 February had been 'incredibly painful' and had overshadowed her celebration. Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson shouted the N-word while 'Sinners' stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award. The slur was audible on the BBC's broadcast, which was later removed from iPlayer.
Mosaku said she had 'no hard feeling' towards Davidson, who has a condition, but criticised Bafta and the BBC. 'It felt exploitative and performative to have someone there without the full protection of everyone,' she said. 'The BBC is a whole other thing... I can't understand it and I'm not sure I can forgive it.'
The BBC has apologised twice, with chief content officer Kate Phillips saying she was 'so sorry that a racial slur was not edited out' and announcing a fast-track investigation. Sources at the BBC told the Guardian that its producers 'didn't hear' the slur. Bafta said it had reported the incident to the BBC and asked for the broadcast to be removed from iPlayer.
Davidson, who was at the ceremony because the film based on his life, 'I Swear', was nominated for awards, said he was 'distraught' and that Bafta had told him any swearing would be edited out of the broadcast.
