BBC Censors Donald Trump Jokes from BAFTA Awards Broadcast
The British public was deprived of certain jokes about former US President Donald Trump during the 78th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) on Sunday night. The BBC opted to cut several quips made by David Tennant, who hosted the London-based ceremony for the second consecutive year.
According to Variety, one of the omitted jokes involved a reference to "The Apprentice," the biopic chronicling the billionaire politician’s rise to power. While on stage at the Royal Festival Hall, Tennant joked that it was unlikely the former president had seen Ali Abbasi’s film.
"It’s a 15 in the UK and doesn’t play on Nickelodeon," Tennant quipped, referencing the film’s depiction of a rape scene and Trump’s history of sexual assault allegations.
Another joke comparing Trump to Tim Burton’s character Beetlejuice also failed to make the final cut. "Donald Trump. I’m worried. I said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice, I’m willing him into existence," Tennant said.
However, two other jokes did make it to air. One poked fun at Trump’s hair, with the 53-year-old actor referring to the president’s coiffure as "the boldest architecture since The Brutalist," a film about a visionary architect. The other compared Trump to iconic movie villains.
"He’s like Nosferatu the vampire, Hugh Grant in ‘Extreme Measures,’ and most terrifying of all, Feathers McGraw from ‘Wallace and Gromit,’" Tennant quipped.
When contacted by Variety, Deadline, and The Independent, a BBC spokesperson explained that the cuts were made due to "time constraints." The ceremony is pre-recorded two hours before being televised, and while it typically runs for over three hours, it is condensed to two hours for broadcast.
The evening saw two films emerge as major winners: "1971" and "The Brutalist," both of which took home four awards each. The BAFTAs serve as an early indicator of potential success at the upcoming Oscars ceremony, which will take place on March 2.
