Elham Asaad Buaras
The BBC is facing mounting criticism after airing a racial slur while simultaneously removing a reference to “Free Palestine” from its broadcast of the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), held on February 22 in London. The contrasting treatment has sparked accusations of editorial bias and inconsistency in how the broadcaster handles politically sensitive content.
Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. won the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer award alongside his brother Wale Davies for My Father’s Shadow. In his acceptance speech, the British-Nigerian filmmaker dedicated the award to migrants and those facing oppression worldwide.
He said it was for “all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children,” acknowledging “the economic migrant, the conflict migrant, those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution, and those experiencing genocide.”
He concluded, “Archive your loved ones, archive your stories yesterday, today, and forever. For Nigeria, for London, the Congo, Sudan — Free Palestine.”
That final line was removed from the BBC’s two hour delayed broadcast, with viewers instead seeing Davies Jr. thanking his family and brother for their support. The full speech is now available on BAFTA’s YouTube page.
The decision drew sharper scrutiny because, during the same ceremony, Scottish Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson involuntarily shouted the N word from the audience while presenters Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage. The outburst, linked to Davidson’s vocal tics, was aired uncensored — even though the broadcast was delayed and other language during the evening was edited.
The BBC later apologised for airing the incident, acknowledging that the offensive language stemmed from involuntary tics and saying it would remove it from the online version of the ceremony. Critics, however, questioned why the racial slur remained in the broadcast while the pro Palestinian statement was edited out.
Amnesty International UK condemned the removal of Davies Jr.’s remarks as “shameful,” praising him for “using your platform to speak out for the rights of migrants and people facing and fleeing persecution and mass atrocities, from the Congo to Sudan to Palestine.”
Labour MP Zarah Sultana criticised the broadcaster on social media, highlighting the disparity, “With a two hour delay, the BBC could’ve removed the N word slur from its BAFTA coverage, and chose not to. Meanwhile, it cut Akinola Davies Jr saying, ‘Free Palestine’. A clear editorial decision driven by fear of pro Israel lobby groups. Shame on them.”
Public reaction on X (formerly Twitter) quickly built on this criticism and emphasised the perceived contradiction in the BBC’s decisions. One user summarised the outrage succinctly: “BAFTA was not live — BBC censored ‘Free Palestine’ — BBC did not censor a hard R,” highlighting frustration that the slur remained audible despite the programme’s delay.
Another wrote bluntly that the broadcaster “omitted ‘free Palestine’ from their broadcast of the BAFTAs, but not the part where two Black men were called a racial slur while on stage,” underscoring the perceived inconsistency in what was deemed acceptable to air.
A widely shared reaction added that the BBC had effectively decided that “‘**Free Palestine’ to be more offensive than a racial slur,” suggesting that the broadcaster’s editorial judgment had offended many viewers.
Others took aim at what they saw as a deeper problem: “The BBC will edit ‘Free Palestine’ out of the BAFTAs but will keep someone shouting the N word,” one user wrote, arguing that the corporation “crave the division and the drama.”
These reactions underline a growing public perception that the BBC applied inconsistent editorial standards, suppressing Palestinian solidarity messages while leaving offensive content intact.
The incident comes amid wider debate over the BBC’s editorial approach to Israel and Gaza coverage.
In June 2025, the corporation declined to air a documentary about medical workers in Gaza, citing impartiality concerns despite opposition from more than 100 of its journalists. The BBC has also faced accusations of removing pro Palestinian displays and ceasefire appeals from its 2023 BAFTA coverage.
A BBC spokesperson defended the edits, insisting, “The live event is three hours and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night, and all edits were made to ensure the programme was delivered to time.”
Feature photo: Filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr., pictured at the Marrakech International Film Festival in December 2025, won Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer at the BAFTAs on February 22, where the BBC later edited its broadcast to remove his closing remark, “Free Palestine.” (Credit: Abu Adem Muhammed/AA)
