According to Deadline, Warner Bros. is making sure that they keep the dirt off its shareholders’ stock-watching shoulders. WB was a major stakeholder in the production of the BAFTAs, and they contend that their execs immediately raised concerns about John Davidson’s Tourette’s-induced disruption. A source at the media conglomerate says that they contacted BBC “within minutes” of the controversy and were told that the issue would be brought directly to the show’s producer, Penny Laney TV, and the issue would be solved thanks to the two-hour tape delay.
However, the producers tell a different story.
They say that they were completely unaware of what Davidson had said until it was “too late” and the anti-Black slurs went into millions of homes via the BBC One channel. Deadline reports that BAFTA and Penny Lane declined to comment despite the former admitting that conversations with WB did in fact take place.
WB is skeptical of that excuse.
“For their story to be true, it means that nobody in the room mentioned it to the BBC or BAFTA in the two hours between the incident and it airing. That’s just not possible,” a senior independent producer told Deadline.
Meanwhile, according to The Times, director-general Tim Davie has said that the BBC is conducting an internal investigation to determine how the lines of communication broke down in that moment.
This was a serious mistake and the director-general has instructed the Executive Complaints Unit to complete a fast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants,” it said.
Someone’s head is going to roll behind this international incident, and it appears that all parties involved are in serious “CYA” mode.
BOSSIP will continue to follow this story as more updates are made public.
