Actress Wunmi Mosaku has spoken out against the BBC’s decision to broadcast a racial slur that was involuntarily shouted at the Bafta awards last month, saying the corporation’s handling of the incident left her unable to sleep and moved her to tears.
The Sinners star, speaking on the red carpet at the Actor Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, told Entertainment Tonight that while she holds no personal grievance toward Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson — the man who uttered the slur — she drew a firm distinction between his actions and those of the BBC.
“I have no hard feelings towards John Davidson at all,” she said. “He has a condition. I feel like Bafta has a lot of lessons to learn.”
Mosaku, who was present at the London ceremony when Davidson involuntarily shouted the n-word toward her fellow Sinners cast members Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo, described the episode as having “tainted” what should have been a celebration. She also raised concerns about the wider context of the evening, saying she found it “exploitative and performative to have someone there without the full protection of everyone, including him and anyone in that audience,” noting that children would have been present.
However, it was the BBC’s subsequent decision to leave the moment in its broadcast that Mosaku said had the most lasting impact on her. “That’s the bit that really kind of kept me awake at night and brought tears to my eyes,” she said. “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.”
Her comments follow those of co-star Delroy Lindo, who addressed the incident publicly for the first time at the weekend, using his appearance at the NAACP Image Awards to thank supporters for their response.
The BBC has since issued an apology over the broadcast. Its Executive Complaints Unit has confirmed it is conducting a fast-tracked investigation into the matter. The outcome of that investigation is yet to be published, and the corporation has not made any further public statement in response to Mosaku’s remarks.
