Trending Now: ‘Painful’ BAFTA outburst kept award winner Wunmi Mosaku ‘awake at night’ – Fans React

Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku said the BBC’s failure to censor a racial slur at the Baftas “really tainted it’ for her.

Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku has revealed she was left “awake at night” after the BBC failed to censor a racial slur during last month’s BAFTAs, saying the incident overshadowed what should have been a celebratory moment in her career. Mosaku, who won best supporting actress for her role in the film Sinners at the ceremony held at London’s Royal Festival Hall, said the broadcast decision “really tainted it for me”.

The actress spoke about the controversy while attending the Actor Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 1, where she addressed the fallout publicly for the first time. The incident occurred when Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson could be heard shouting as Mosaku’s Sinners co stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for special visual effects.

The remark, which included a racial slur, was aired despite the BBC broadcast operating with a two hour delay designed to prevent offensive material from reaching viewers. Speaking to US television programme Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet, Mosaku said: “I was there and it was painful to have that celebration kind of really tainted for me.

“I have no hard feelings towards John Davidson at all. He has a condition. I feel like Bafta has a lot of lessons to learn.” She criticised the circumstances surrounding Davidson’s presence at the ceremony, arguing organisers failed to adequately protect everyone involved.

“I found it exploitative and performative to have someone there without the full protection of everyone, including him and anyone in that audience,” she said, adding that children would also have been watching. Mosaku reserved her strongest criticism for the broadcaster’s editorial decision to include the moment in its coverage.

“That’s one thing, and then the BBC is a whole other thing,” she said. “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 if I can forgive it.”

The BBC has since issued an apology, confirming that its Executive Complaints Unit will carry out a fast tracked investigation into how the slur remained in the final broadcast.

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The controversy has also drawn political attention, with the Culture, Media and Sport Committee writing to outgoing BBC Director General Tim Davie seeking clarification.

Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage referenced previous broadcasting controversies, including coverage of Glastonbury Festival, saying the “latest incident raises questions about the extent to which lessons have been learned and about the controls and systems you have in place to prevent such incidents”.

Davidson, a Scottish campaigner who attended the BAFTAs representing the film I Swear, which documents his life with Tourette’s syndrome, later said he felt “mortified” by what happened.

Speaking to Variety, he said the BBC should have “worked harder” to ensure the slur was not aired. Davidson developed the condition at the age of 12 and has since campaigned to raise awareness of Tourette’s and associated coprophenomena.

Meanwhile, Delroy Lindo addressed the controversy while appearing on stage at the NAACP Image Awards in California on Saturday, February 28, an event celebrating achievements by black and minority ethnic artists.

He told the audience: “We appreciate – I appreciate – all of the support and love we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend, it means a lot to us.

“It is an honour to be here amongst our people this evening, amongst so many people who have shown us such incredible support.

“And it’s a classic case of something that could’ve been very negative becoming very positive. Thank you so much for the support.”