12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen, 51, admitted he would have boycotted the BBC back in 2009 if they didn’t apologise for a white news reporter using the N-word on-air. The broadcaster initially defended the racial slur but later apologised for the mistake, but the error saw them hit with more than 18,600 complaints, including by a number of politicians and BBC staff.
It was broadcast by Points West and the BBC News Channel on 29 July, in full in a report about a racially aggravated attack in Bristol.
The director general at the time Tony Hall, apologised and accepted that the BBC should have taken a different approach.
He said he recognised that the report had caused “distress” amongst many people, and said the Beeb would be “strengthening” its guidance on offensive language in its output.
But the row saw BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Sideman, real name David Whitely, quit the station over the row, saying that “the action and the defence of the action feels like a slap in the face of our community”.
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And in a recent interview, McQueen recalled his anger and disgust.
“That they didn’t react on the N-word is ridiculous,” he said.
“I actually… I can’t tell you what I did. But there was going to be some kind of boycott on my part if that wasn’t corrected, because it was so offensive it was untrue.”
But the incident hasn’t muddied his love for the BBC, who he directed a series of films for about the black British experience called Small Axe.
He also revealed he hopes for diversity within the corporation after new director general Tim Davie set out his targets, which include a mandate to increase representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnicity to 20 percent.
But McQueen admitted there is “no perfect situation” and he just hopes that the BBC can offer more opportunities.
He said: “Back in the day, the place that you’d see the most Black people was in the canteen, where the ladies and porters would be Black or Irish white working-class.
“For me, it’s about giving people the opportunity to be in a field that means excellence. It’s the BBC.
“I don’t want this kind of quota, but what I do want is opportunities that open doors for people of colour and women. It’s important, I can’t say how important enough.”
McQueen’s full interview is available to read now in Radio Times.