Sinners studio say they raised N-word use with Bafta immediately as Google ‘deeply sorry’ for offensive notification

A source close to Warner Bros has said that executives were assured the slur would be removed before broadcast, while search engine remove AI-generated prompt

Warner Bros reacted immediately after the N-word was yelled while two of the black stars of their film, Sinners, were on stage at the Baftas on Sunday night, yet saw their concerns ignored after the moment was not edited out of the TV broadcast.

A source close to the studio has told the Guardian that executives immediately raised the issue with Bafta after Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson’s verbal tic while Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the award for best visual effects.

They requested the word be removed from the telecast, which airs on BBC One after a two-hour time delay. The source confirmed that Bafta assured them the request would be passed on to the BBC.

Warner Bros, the studio behind both Sinners and the night’s big winner, One Battle After Another, were in close contact with Bafta throughout the evening and also met with them on Monday morning.

Deadline were the first to report the story, which was then independently sourced by the Guardian.

In request for comment on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the BBC said they would not be adding anything further to the statement they released on Monday apologising for the editing oversight.

BBC producers overseeing coverage said earlier on Monday they did not hear the slur, with a source telling the Guardian that this was because they were “working from a truck”.

Meanwhile Google have apologised for an AI-generated prompt accompanying a link to an article about the incident, which invited users to “See more on” the N-word.

A Google spokesperson told the Guardian the company are “deeply sorry for this mistake. We’ve removed the offensive notification and are working to prevent this from happening again.”

Many have also questioned why those editing the telecast were not aware of the considerable reaction both in the room and shortly afterwards on social media to Davidson’s involuntary yell.

Several other incidents of inappropriate language were cut out, yet that moment was missed. On Monday afternoon, the BBC issued a new apology for its handling of the incident and uploaded an edited version to its website.

The lengthy delay between the ceremony happening in real time and being broadcast has met with increased criticism as those interested in the awards are likely to know the winners long before they can watch the show.

The rationale for such a delay has long been that such a gap gives the broadcaster enough time to remove inappropriate content, especially since the transmission time was pre-watershed.

On Monday evening, Bafta put out a statement in which it said that it took “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all”.

It also “apologise[d] unreservedly” to Jordan and Lindo and thanked them for “their incredible dignity and professionalism”.

Yet attempts by both bodies to apologise have so far failed to stem the tide of criticism. On Tuesday, Bafta judge Jonte Richardson quit his role over the “utterly unforgivable” handling of the incident, while New Black Film Collective and MP Dawn Butler echoed Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s outrage at the BBC’s failure to edit out the word.

The Guardian has approached Bafta for comment.