Google ‘deeply sorry’ for BAFTA N-Word News Alert

Google apologized Tuesday for sending an “offensive notice” about the recent BAFTA Film Awards controversy, which included the use of the N-word.

The inclusion of the slur in the message, which Google has confirmed Variety was received by “only a very small subset” of app users who receive push notifications was not due to a system error involving AI, as incorrectly reported. According to Google, the system’s security filters were not properly activated when it “recognized a euphemism for an offensive term on several web pages and accidentally applied the offensive term to the notification text.”

The push notification in question linked to an article from The Hollywood Reporter with the headline “How Tourette’s Aftermath Unfolded at the BAFTA Film Awards,” and Google added another text that read, “See more about,” followed by the N-word.

“We are deeply sorry for this error,” a Google spokesperson said on Tuesday. “We have removed the offending notice and are working to prevent this from happening again.”

The controversy over the notice comes amid the ongoing fallout from Sunday’s BAFTA Film Awards, which saw Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson involuntarily shouting the N-word as Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage presenting. The pre-recorded moment was broadcast without editing.

In a letter to BAFTA members sent on Tuesday, BAFTA chairman Sara Putt and CEO Jane Millichip discussed the incident and said they wanted to “acknowledge the damage this has caused, address what happened and apologize to everyone.” They also said a “comprehensive review” is now underway.