Just that one word
At the BAFTAs.
The other night I thought I heard
What dictionaries deem ‘the most offensive slur’
Whilst others were bleeped, edited-out or blurred
This one slipped the net
In fact - a whole room of top-paid TV execs...
And I wonder if at least one of them said:
“Now now everyone, don’t feel too perturbed!
We caught all the rest
It was just that one word.”
“We know it’s the same word you could read on the lips
Of men who crammed slaves onto hot, stinking ships
The one spat as they lay there bleeding & whipped
Should have spotted it 1st watch or 3rd…
Oh well, we caught all the rest
It was just that one word.”
“We know it’s the same word carved into the trees
Where Black bodies swung from beneath the leaves
The one black boys fear after missed penalties
That caused Michael and Delroy to freeze…
Not sure how we missed it, must have misheard!
Thank God we caught all the rest
It was just that one word.”
“Yes we’re aware John Davidson does have Tourette’s
A condition with nuance not everyone gets
We had every involuntary tic triple-checked
But there’s one we all seemed to forget
So just tell John to ignore the backlash that’s occurred
‘Cus we did an amazing job
It was just that one word.”
If I walked into that room
With those producers & execs
I’d explain ‘just that one word’
Did damage one million inflicts
If it was a mistake
And things get missed time to time
It’s peculiar it’s never happened
With ‘Free ————‘
Am I angry at John Davidson for his Tourettes?
No, never.
I’m angry because the BBC’s
Negligence? Ignorance? Mistake?
Have helped
Just that one word
On that one night
Live forever.
They had no problem editing out cries of free Palestine. They cut a speech short. They cut out the homophobic slurs. The BBC had a duty of care to its viewers and they failed. Not John Davidson. The BBC.
Exactly this. They completely failed in their duty of care to everyone involved. Given the nature of the neurological disorder, this was a completely foreseeable event. That minimal mitigations were put in place to manage such an occurrence is infuriating. But the subsequent response, or lack of one, is completely unforgivable.