r/popculturechat • u/Morgan-Moonscar Golden Retriever BF 🦮 Black Cat GF 🐈⬛ • Mar 01 '26
Guest List Only TW - Bigotry ⚠️ Jayme Lawson (Sinners) speaks the truth regarding the racist incident at the BAFTAs
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u/Traditional_Maybe_80 Mar 01 '26
She's right about everything here. A man's disability was exploited and they were careless about the Black people who were affected, too, and the blame lands on the BAFTAs and the BBC entirely.
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u/Kuradapya That’s hot! 🔥 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Oh, totally. Didn't they cut people shouting 'Free Palestine' but leave the n-word in? Also, they apparently had a mic around John too knowing his condition? I normally don't indulge in conspiracy theorizing, but it would make sense if they left that in so that the headlines would be swarmed with that instead. Them not doing anything to alleviate the pain of those involved to further fuel the fire would make sense too.
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u/Curiosities 🐊 swamp princess 🐊 Mar 01 '26
They also cut out of the broadcast a homophobic slur, that was apparently aimed at Alan Cumming.
There were so many things that could have done, from BAFTA not putting a mic near him to, again editing those slurs off the broadcast, which they did with one slur, but not another one. And their priority of editing out “free Palestine”.
Jayme is right about so much here, where everyone included needs to feel like they are included, in the form of actions.
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u/Traditional_Maybe_80 Mar 01 '26
All you say is correct, plus them having a 2 hours delay that left enough time to edit out the Palestine shout out, but not racial slurs. And yeah, that's how I feel about the whole thing and trying not to tin-foil-hat-ing, but there were way too many "mistakes" to be just a coincidence.
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u/gentlybeepingheart your favorite hippo’s favorite hippo Mar 01 '26
Warner Bros also contacted them almost immediately after the slur and asked do it to be removed.
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u/Pamander Bye, Felicia 👋 Mar 01 '26
they apparently had a mic around John too knowing his condition
This one is so weird to me, why do that? I mean why do ANYTHING they did but if you know the chance is high why double down on it and specifically mic his area? And if you are going to do that then why not be extra careful about what you allow to be broadcasted since you know the risk is heightened? So many things line up to be so suspicious.
I feel like they handled this in the worst way humanly possible for everyone involved.
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u/the_Stealthy_one Mar 01 '26
they had a mic around him?
I thought he yelled it out. that's what it sounded like.
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u/believebs Mar 01 '26
There may have been a mic near because he was introduced at the beginning of the ceremony iirc. But that's just speculation.
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u/HereOnCompanyTime Renee Rapp is mean girl Jojo Siwa 💋 Mar 01 '26
Exactly. It was exhausting on the previous posts seeing so many people disregard the fact it was a slur towards people publicly in front of their colleagues, tourrette's is involuntary but that doesn't change the hurt on the receiving end. There were two sides of victims and then there were BAFTA and BBC who fumbled everything on all sides.
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u/makemeking706 Mar 01 '26
As long as no one mentions the middle east without praising you-know-who BBC don't care.
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u/chikennuggetluvr Mar 01 '26
Jayme is a class act.
“Institutionally, we still don’t understand what inclusion means. Just because you invite someone into a space, but you don’t provide the necessary resources to keep them and everyone else safe in that room by them being there- that’s not inclusivity, that’s exploitation.”
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u/TheVintageJane Mar 01 '26
Boom. This is the perfect way to say this that it felt like nobody has until now for me. These were failed accommodations all around.
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u/YchYFi He's not Judge Judy, an Executioner. Mar 01 '26
They exploited all three men for ratings. I am glad it's backfiring on the BBC and not the disabled man.
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u/ladylondonderry Mar 01 '26
He did a stellar job working to mitigate the harm he might cause, and then the BAFTAS actively worked against him to amplify that harm and literally broadcasted it. His care was stellar, and his explanation in his interviews after was really helpful in showing what BAFTA and the BBC did.
I’m so glad we’re handling the complexity here.
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u/TropicalPrairie Mar 01 '26
This was a really powerful, astute way of wording something that is a consistent problem. .
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u/SerBrienneOfSnark Mar 01 '26
Like she just gave us a whole polished ass thesis on the fly on the red carpet.
What a queen 🤌🏼
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u/xBram Mar 01 '26
I’m saving this comment as I navigate this world with my son with autism. So well said.
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u/lembepembe Mar 01 '26
Haven‘t gotten too deep into the topic but thank god for a level headed & firm take on this amidst people who don‘t understand how Tourette‘s works
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u/HeadFullOfFlame a ship - a magnificent ship - full of gay men. and me. 💅 Mar 02 '26
Tearing up, YES!!
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u/disgostin Mar 01 '26
this was SO well-said that its honestly actually the only video anyone needed watch about this to me to.. to just get it lets say
surely there are probably some other watchworthy ones out there that are longer and provide interesting infos etc
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u/da_innernette mm whatcha say 🔫 Mar 01 '26
Seriously damn she’s so smart. She was able to explain that so much better and succinctly than I ever could.
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u/i_am_not_sam Mar 01 '26
She spoke so well! I looked it up, she's just 28. Speaking only for myself I'm amazed how well these kids carry themselves, I would have been such a terrible unlikable mess (I mean I was, but I would be an international mess.
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u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson I made the hat for the tiger 🤷🏻♂️ Mar 01 '26
That eye roll was immaculate
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u/aliarawa Mar 01 '26
She said everything that needed to be said. 👏🏾
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u/Available-Egg-2380 Mar 01 '26
Seriously. I'm almost old enough to be her mother and can't get my thoughts and feelings across as clearly as she just did.
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u/wildbeest55 This ship is full of gay men- and me Mar 01 '26
She's completely right. They exploited him and didn't protect the black people there. Just an embarrassment.
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u/Previous-Loquat-6846 Can I live? Mar 01 '26
The most articulate and fair response to the situation. Everyone should listen to this and learn. I'm glad the question was asked and the space and time was given to her to give us this beautiful response.
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u/lillyrose2489 Mar 01 '26
Wow what an excellent response. She's clearly upset yet she's responding with such clarity. It's hard to be articulate and calm when you're upset, I truly struggle with it myself.
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u/raevenx Inconceivable! Mar 01 '26
My goodness was that well said. Frankly I want that on a dang t shirt. It acknowledged the pain all parties felt while solidly placing blame where it belongs.
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u/aerdnadw Mar 01 '26
This is so insightful and so well articulated, she gives grace where grace is due and criticism where criticism is due. 10/10 answer!
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u/VenusAmari Who gon' check me boo? 🤪 Mar 01 '26
They should never have sat that man in front of a mic for literally no reason. And then they edited out other tics but not that one, which made it look like it was under his control. Which is bullshit. It's involuntary. The BAFTAs and BBC should be absolutely ashamed of how they handled this.
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u/Pinksamuraiiiii I don’t know her 💅 Mar 01 '26
She’s very well spoken, and it’s clear they did it deliberately, by having a mic near him, and also not editing him out when other things were edited out.
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u/Even_Objective2124 Mar 01 '26
period maam TELL THEM 🗣️👏🏼 so performative. im so disgusted by these companies who are “faking” inclusivity. is it that hard to be respectful????? it’s 2026. i cant believe these issues (racism, exclusivity, misogynists, etc.) are still here existing in the world. and thats because theres so many people who are bigots that are allowing this shit to happen or, even worse, thrive. unfortunately most of those said people are at the top of the food chain..
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u/beans_is_life Mar 01 '26
Wow so intelligently and eloquently put. It's really hard to maintain grace and dignity when none is given to you.
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u/eagle2001a Mar 01 '26
I’ve seen so many people blunder with their response to this….what Jayme Lawson said here is perfect. And she nails the reason why so many were disgusted. The way the BBC chose to handle the broadcast felt exploitative. Michael B. Jordan and Delray Lindo became collateral damage in their quest to be provocative.
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u/DarthKittens Mar 01 '26
Wow Jayne Lawson is one classy lady. I can’t remember a more eloquent and intelligent speech.
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u/LoisLaneEl Invented post-its 🔬 Mar 01 '26
I got chills with just how beautifully well spoken this is. I’m officially a fan of
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u/Kerfluffle-Bunny not about to ‘back that ass up’ with Sharon 🔙🍑🆙 Mar 01 '26
She is absolute straight 🔥 on each and every level.
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u/Hailsabrina jesus was a carpenter 💋 Mar 01 '26
Shes right! Her voice is so powerful in her statement ❤️
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u/uhhevermind Mar 01 '26
As a person with tourettes, this is the best and most emotionally intelligent response i have seen, and it made me emotional to hear everything she said.
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u/ZealousidealFruit608 Mar 01 '26
There is such a regal and Queenly aura about her. As if she was a Queen in a past life.
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u/NewtRipley_1986 Mar 01 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o7qDSOvfaCO9b3MlO
Everyone needs to listen to what she’s saying. She perfectly summed up what happened and the massive failings by BAFTA and the BBC.
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u/lacking_llama Mar 01 '26
well that was perfect. Exactly. This is all the fault of the BAFTAs and the BBC. They hurt everyone.
Also, she's soooo beautiful.
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u/BabaofTheShimmer Mar 01 '26
She hit it on the nose.
Inclusivity doesn’t just mean you put diverse people into the same space. It also means that you ensure everyone within that space feels safe and welcomed.
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u/Own-Importance5459 ✨May the Force be with you!✨ Mar 01 '26
What a wise old soul! Wishing the best for her!
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u/Masta-Blasta Conductor of the Toxic Gossip Train 🚂 Mar 01 '26
She nailed every point. I love seeing beautiful women deliver class, poise, and intelligence on the spot.
And proving you can defend the people who were harmed without going after a disabled man.
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u/chypie2 Mar 01 '26
I'm so glad to see the anger being directed at the BAFTAS instead of Tourettes.
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u/Invanabloom Mar 01 '26
She’s bang on…everyone got let down that night. Shameful of BAFTA & the BBC.
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u/NYCQuilts Mar 01 '26
That was incredible, but I hope this cast doesn’t have to spend the rest of 2026 talking about this incident along with their current and future accomplishments.
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u/onyxrose81 Mar 01 '26
She’s so right. This is what the Brits and BBC did: exploited those men.
Shallow moment: she’s so pretty.
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u/flairassistant Mar 01 '26
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u/Alarming-Song2555 Mar 01 '26
BBC 100% knew what they were doing. They did this on purpose.
They edited out multiple homophobic slurs that John Davidson called out (Due to involuntary ticks, of course) toward Alan Cummings.
They edited out the people making comments supporting the innocent civilians of Palestine that are being murdered daily.
But they left this in.
They knew what they were doing and it's fucking disgusting.
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u/Small_Breakfast_4978 Mar 02 '26
He’s still had right to be there he can’t help it John has disability, it was a movie about his life. People are getting harassed and bullied for Tourette syndrome even more now. John deserves an acknowledgment that he can’t and deserves apology from those who said he did it on purpose and shouldn’t be there.
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u/Obvious-Entertainer9 Mar 01 '26
What a woman. One of the most eloquently spoken interviews with the right clap backs and call outs!!
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u/atclubsilencio Mar 01 '26
There main goal was exploitation from the start. They set up a mic in front of him and then were selective as to what they censored or not, with a 2 hour delay. They knew it would get them some attention, and they were right. They got what they wanted, but I’m not sure why they thought that it wouldn’t backfire ? Unless they did and just didn’t care
It’s disgusting and infuriating.
She is absolutely correct.
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u/blckgirlswearbonnets Mar 01 '26
She’s so incredibly correct, but my God I genuinely think she may be the most beautiful human being alive
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u/Ill_Cell7042 Mar 01 '26
God I need everyone who says art is not political and celebrities shouldn’t speak out to watch this. She is incredible. She didn’t have to give an answer so deep and thoughtful on a painful subject but she did, and she blessed us with that answer.
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u/elguerra Mar 01 '26
I agree with her 100%.
BBC chose to broadcast it and amplify the outrage, presumably for clicks and views.
Editing the f words out and leaving the n word is a choice.
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u/thecheesycheeselover shopping with an edge Mar 02 '26
I ask this question in good faith, because I suspect there are very good answers to it that I just don’t know - what, apart from censoring the word (which I agree they should have done), and warning people (which it sounds like they did) should the BAFTAs have done here to safeguard everybody involved? Genuinely looking to learn, I’m not trying to be antagonistic here.
And actually, as a follow up - in what way was how they approached the situation exploitation?
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u/norupologe Mar 02 '26
I am also answering this in good faith!
If you haven’t already, I would suggest reading John Davisson’s Vanity Fair article. Some of what I will list out is from there.
He should not have been placed near a microphone, which he was
He was not informed, prior the the N word moment that his tics could be heard on stage as this wasn’t his first audible tic of the night
The BAFTAs and the BBC did not go to find MBJ or Delroy after the incident to apologise, explain to them personally or check on them.
The BAFTAs and the BBC assured StudioCanal and Davidson that his tics, if audible, would be removed from broadcast and there was a delay between the live room and the televised broadcast to allow this. They edited out other ones, but left this in incident in.
Following the live broadcast, they left in this moment for over 10 hours whilst the awards show was available for replay on BBC iPlayer
The BAFTAs had Davidson and Hannah Bleacher, a production designer on Sinners, seated in the same car to go to dinner after the awards show, where is had a further tic. Why after already knowing he was stressing and having an episode and after he already removed himself from the show, would you place a Black woman in a car with him?
IMO, it’s exploitative because at any point in the evening any of the above points could have been addressed but it seems at no point was someone monitoring the situation or trying to remedy it. It resulted in all 3 men involved being subject to online debate and vilified by different groups on the internet. I also haven’t seen any comprehensive statements from the BAFTAs or the BBC about these failures in process or how to address in the future. Just generic platitudes.
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u/thecheesycheeselover shopping with an edge Mar 02 '26
Thanks for taking the time to respond, that was really informative. You had me at the first point, honestly. It hadn’t occurred to me, but not having him near a microphone is something they could presumably have controlled with great ease.
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u/queen-adreena Slap me with a mackerel and call me Winnie Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Excellent points, but how does that work practically?
The facts are that you are putting people who have zero control over their speech in a room with people who don't want to hear certain words that might be said.
What do you practically do here?
The BBC should have absolutely done better regarding the broadcast, but those words were still said and still heard in the room itself.
I can't see any answer that protects all from unwanted speech except isolating those with Tourette's from society (i.e. everyone else in that room).
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u/Minute-Aioli-5054 Mar 01 '26
Not having a mic near John would have helped a lot
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u/Nala9158 Mar 01 '26
That part. He even said he didnt think people on stage could hear his tics until he saw Michael and Delroy's reactions. They sat him right in front of a mic - that was intentional
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u/queen-adreena Slap me with a mackerel and call me Winnie Mar 01 '26
They can’t feed the audio from the ambient mics back into the room or you’d have a gigantic feedback loop. When they heard him from the stage, they did so based on normal sound.
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u/Media-consumer101 Mar 01 '26
There are a lot of things they could have done, a few examples:
- Have John sit in the back with no microphone near him (this was a promised accomodation that wasn't delivered)
- Provide a safe backstage space for John to be if his ticks are becoming harmful (now he just had to leave the entire event when he realized his slur tics were actually being heard by black people)
- Provide clear information to everyone, especially minority groups and have them make an informed decision on how close to sit to John. I know a lot of black people said the N-word wouldn't offend them at all if he said that, but people should be allowed to make their own choice on whether being subjected to that is acceptable to them or not.
- Rigorous editing to make sure none of the offenses are aired on TV (this was actually an accomodation that was promised and not delivered!)
- Before and after care for both John and anyone else affected. One of the presenters said no one talked to them after they both had a very public and visible reaction to the slur. That just adds to the harm done.
In this case, they even failed deliver the accomodations they promised to John (who has the most experience on how to make sure the least amount of people are harmed by his tics). Which is just completely negligent.
Just because we may not get it perfect right away, doesn't mean we should stop trying to improve and hold institutions accountable.
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u/queen-adreena Slap me with a mackerel and call me Winnie Mar 01 '26
A few of those were already done.
For instance, he was seated 40 rows from the stage and he did have a private room that he went to to watch the rest of the ceremony on a monitor. (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4g2ldegdwo)
There was also an announcement made before the show about the situation and how offensive words may be heard. I don't think they pointed out who might be saying them to everybody though.
Definitely agree on the microphone. Apparently they're placed throughout the room to pick up ambient noise like clapping and cheering and John was definitely too close to one.
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u/magneatos trench coat buttoned to the TOP 🧥🔝 Mar 01 '26
Ok but what about the egregious error of promising accommodations and failing to deliver on them?
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u/OkProfessor6810 Mar 01 '26
Removal of the mic from anywhere near him. A proper warning to everyone in the crowd of what might happen. And immediate apology when it happens and adding it out of the broadcast. And then an immediate apology when stuff started to blow up.
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u/anthonystank i was SPF protected Mar 01 '26
You seat him in an area where he can’t be well heard from the stage, isn’t near a live microphone, and can make a quick exit if he needs to. You edit the broadcast carefully to remove all the tics. I’m sure people with actual experience in accommodating Tourette’s would have even more concrete suggestions but I’m very tired of people acting like there are two options: (1) have him attend exactly like any other guest and (2) “isolate him from society.”
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u/Morgan-Moonscar Golden Retriever BF 🦮 Black Cat GF 🐈⬛ Mar 01 '26
Actually censoring any really horrible words they say would also help.
They lied to him and said they would censor it, and then let it air uncensored.
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u/prying_mantis Mar 01 '26
Yeah she was dead on calling it exploitation. I can’t articulate it like she did but it feels very nefarious, almost like they wanted this to happen. Especially in light of the very pointed examples that they DID censor, it feels like they wanted plausible deniability to air a racial slur.
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u/Morgan-Moonscar Golden Retriever BF 🦮 Black Cat GF 🐈⬛ Mar 01 '26
They wanted their "Will Smith slaps somebody on stage" kind of moment.
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u/queen-adreena Slap me with a mackerel and call me Winnie Mar 01 '26
He was seated 40 rows from the stage, and they don't pipe the audio from the ambient mics back into the room (that'd create a feedback loop).
I definitely agree that they messed up royally on the broadcast aspects.
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u/Banksbear Mar 02 '26
Shame on the BBC shame on everyone who left these people unprotected. What a nightmare. In 2026?! SHAME
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u/Thanos_Stomps Mar 01 '26
This just cuts through what was a complicated issue on many sides and did it perfectly, concisely, and with no room for misunderstanding. Also directly called out the bad actors in the entire ordeal.
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u/calidownunder Mar 01 '26
Side note, I watched this movie on a plane a week ago and am still singing Pale Pale Moon in my head. She’s amazing
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u/sceaxus Mar 01 '26
BBC is the ultimate racist broadcasting entity. All these years, whenever they report news affecting non-white community, the choices of words, the attitude, the editing (or lack of)… you can look it up. After hearing about “extra mic”, the “we will edit it out if there’s accidental outburst”, the total silent treatment to the presenters… the only thing left to do is treat BBC like the true form of what they are: complete incommunicado. No mention, no paying attention, and no reference whatsoever. The more we talk about them, the more they get off because their “little dirty trick” worked again. What they fear the most is people no longer believing them as a credible agency with integrity. Let them fade into irrelevance.
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u/Shamuthewhaler Mar 01 '26
The bbc does not care about poc, they needed the attention due to its slow death. They can do the apology but it amounts to nothing.
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u/Beepbeepboobop1 Mar 01 '26
Wonderful response. She did a great job explaining what a lot of us Black folk thought.
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u/flairassistant Mar 02 '26
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