Sinners Star Wunmi Mosaku Calls Out BBC Over Baftas N-Word Tic Broadcast
During the awards show, which took place last month, Tourette’s syndrome campaigner John Davidson experienced an involuntary tic while Wunmi’s co-stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage, resulting in him shouting the N-word from the audience.
In the week that followed, both Bafta and the BBC faced scrutiny about the incident, particularly after the racial slur was included in the national broadaster’s coverage of the event, which aired on a two-hour time delay.
Asked for her “take” during an interview with Entertainment Tonight at Sunday’s Actor Awards, Wunmi began: “I was there and it was painful to have that celebration kind of really tainted for me.”
While the British actor was quick to state that she holds “no hard feelings towards John Davidson at all”, she pointed out that Bafta has a “lot of lessons to learn” following what transpired at this year’s ceremony.
Echoing comments made by Sinners cast member Jayme Lawson earlier in the weekend, Wunmi continued: “It felt exploitative and performative to have someone there without the full protection of everyone – including him – and anyone in that audience. There were children in that audience.”
“That’s one thing,” she added. “And then the BBC is a whole other thing. 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.”
After Delroy Lindo expressed disappointment over how Bafta handled the incident, Bafta issued a public apology to both actors, and accepted “full responsibility” for what transpired.
Meanwhile, the BBC has “fast-tracked” an investigation into how the racist slur came to be included in its Baftas broadcast, which a spokesperson described as a “serious mistake”.
Following her win at the 2026 Baftas, Wunmi is currently in the running to pick up Best Supporting Actress at the upcoming Oscars, where Sinners has made history as the awards show’s most-nominated film ever.