The BBC is providing an explanation about the 2026 BAFTAs racial slur incident.

If you didn’t know, Tourette’s syndrome activist John Davidson yelled a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage, for which he has since apologized.

While other outbursts from John were edited out of the broadcast that aired later, that one was not.

John was invited to the ceremony to represent the film I Swear, based on his life and experiences with the disorder.

Now Tim Davie, the general director of the BBC, is speaking out.

Keep reading to find out more…

Tim sent a letter to the U.K.’s Culture, Media & Sport Committee (CMSC) on Friday (March 6), providing an explanation as to why the BBC allowed the moment to air unedited amid much controversy.

“I want to assure you that the BBC profoundly regrets the events around the broadcast of the BAFTAs. The BBC has apologized for the serious mistake that was made, in allowing a racial slur to be broadcast and then remain on iPlayer overnight and into Monday morning. We understand the hurt and shock that the mistake caused,” he wrote.

“I’d like to make clear: although the racial slur was symptomatic of a disability and an involuntary tic, it should never have been broadcast. It was a genuine mistake, and we take full responsibility for our error.”

He said “a number of questions” were asked after, including why the use of the n-word was not edited out, but other parts were.

“Although this is the subject of ongoing review, our initial evidence gathering has found that no one in the on-site broadcast truck heard this when they were watching the live feed. Because no one in the broadcast truck was aware it was on the live feed, there was therefore no editorial decision made to leave the language in,” he claimed.

He also noted when it was shouted during Wunmi Mosaku‘s Best Supporting Actress speech, which was edited out.

“In that instance, the edit team did hear the racial slur on the feed and removed it immediately from the version of the ceremony that would be broadcast later that evening. This was in line with protocols and procedures that were in place for this event.”

“These two incidents happened within ten minutes of each other. It appears that soon after the second incident, the edit team in the truck started receiving reports, including from BAFTA, that a racial slur had been shouted during the ceremony. Our understanding at this point is that the team editing the show in the truck mistakenly believed they had edited out the incident that was being referenced, on the basis that they had heard and edited out the slur shouted out during the Best Supporting Actress award. Therefore, when they were told a racial slur had been shouted, they believed they had removed it.”

“Other edits were made to the ceremony before broadcast – some were made in line with the protocols we had put in place in advance to deal with offensive language. Other edits were made for other purposes – for example, length of speeches to cut the show to its allotted broadcast slot,” he went on to write.

“This is standard practice for live events and awards shows of this nature. Following broadcast on BBC One, further reports, including on social media, drew attention to the first instance of the racial slur. Our current understanding is that the on-site team did not believe that the slur was audible on the broadcast, and the show remained on iPlayer unedited that evening.”

“We are now looking in more detail why the team did not ascertain sooner that there had been two instances of the use of the racial slur, and why post broadcast further action was not taken to edit or remove the programme from iPlayer sooner,” the letter also reads. You can read the full explanation letter here.

Find out what Delroy Lindo said about the incident. See what John Davidson said about his vocal tic.