After BAFTA and BBC, Google issues aplology for using N-word while sending an alert, Internet says, 'keeps getting worse'

The BAFTA awards has been in the news this past week over an incident that took place while Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage. Tourette advocate John Davidson sparked controversy after he dropped the N-word while Jordan and Lindo were on stage. The incident sparked uproar in the international press and BAFTA and BBC issued apologies soon after. Now, Google too has apologised for using the N-word while sending out a news alert about the incident.

Google’s new alert about the BAFTA incident uses N-word

Content creator Danny Price noticed on Tuesday that Google sent a news alert to millions of users while they used the N-word. Ironically, while pushing an article that was reporting on the incident, Google added, “See more on (N-word).”

Later Deadline reached out to the tech conglomerate and a spokesperson apologised and said, “We’re very sorry for this mistake. We’ve removed the offensive notification and are working to prevent this from happening again.”

Fans react

While BAFTA continues to take corrective actions for the incident, fans have had varied reactions to the usage of the N-word and the subsequent apologies.

“Yo it just keeps getting worse,” wrote an X (formerly Twitter) user posting the screenshot. “ts so wild bro, what is in the air this black history month,” wrote another.

“I CAN’T BREATHE,” wrote an X user while posting the screenshot and Google’s apology. “BAFTA didn’t censor someone with a disability saying The hard r, google published an article with the word fully wrote out, Justin still calling it “our month” what a terrible back half of BHM,” pointed one.

“google's AI sending out the n-word in a push notification during black history month and the BAFTA guy with tourette's shouting it on live TV in the same week. 2026 is absolutely unhinged,” wrote another.

There were some who did not believe that Google was unaware of what it was doing when sending the notification.

An X user wrote, “Oh, come on...lol. The algorithms are designed 1st & foremost to promote engagement...& everything else is secondary to engagement. Removing the scandalous use of the word at the BAFTAs lessens engagement. It's a feature, not a bug, lol.”

What happened at BAFTA Awards

On Sunday, Jordanand Lindo were on stage when a Tourette’s activist named John Davidson loudly yelled the N-word. After videos of the incident went viral, with many questioning why it was aired, the BAFTA and BBC issued an apology on Monday.

Later, John said he was ‘deeply mortified’, and it was ‘not a reflection of my personal beliefs’. He also said in a statement, “I chose to leave the auditorium early in the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”