Alan Cumming Slams Bafta’s ‘Bad Leadership’ After N-Word Controversy

Alan Cumming has made it clear we shouldn’t expect to see him back at the helm of the Baftas next year.

Exacerbating the furore even further was the fact that the incident made it into the BBC’s coverage of the event, uncensored, despite it airing on a two-hour delay.

“It was an international scandal,” the Scottish actor and presenter told The Times in an interview published on Thursday.

“Then poor John gave this interview saying, ‘I’m not a racist. I called Alan Cumming a paedophile too’. Oh great! He’s equal opportunities and my name and ‘paedophile’ were in the same sentences all over the world.”

Alan went on to criticise Baftas organisers for their part in the incident, lamenting: “It was bad, bad, bad, bad leadership. Bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly, who really had not prepared and let people down.”

The Traitors US host claimed that because of the earpiece he had to wear on stage, he couldn’t “hear very specifically” what went on during the ceremony, casting doubt on whether the Sinners stars would have “heard the actual slur” in the moment, either.

Later on in the ceremony, he apologised on behalf of Bafta, without understanding exactly what it was he was addressing.

He claimed: “I watched myself back. I was very smiley, I didn’t do it with the gravitas and tone I would have used had I known. That pissed me off.”

Alan added: “You could say they didn’t know [what might happen], but they clearly did, because apparently John had said the n-word at a party the day before.”

Ending the interview, Alan ruled out the possibility of hosting the Baftas for a second year, claiming that before the event had even begun, he’d asked his agent to “remind me, I never want to do this again”, as the job itself had already proved to be so “tough”.

The week after the Baftas, Alan addressed the controversy for the first time, writing on Instagram: “What should have been an evening celebrating creativity as well as diversity and inclusion turned into a trauma-triggering shitshow.”

He continued: “I’m so sorry for all the pain Black people have felt at hearing that word echoed round the world.

“I’m so sorry the Tourette’s community has been reminded of the lack of understanding and tolerance that abounds regarding their condition.”

After Delroy Lindo publicly voiced his disappointment over how Bafta had handled the incident, the awards body issued a public apology, and accepted “full responsibility” for what transpired.