Andrew Scott was asked an inappropriate interview question on the BAFTA red carpet. (Getty)
The BBC said Andrew Scott’s red carpet interview at the BAFTAs, which was criticized as “offensive”, was “not intended to offend”.
Scott, who said at the BAFTAs that he “really enjoys being gay on many levels,” was approached by BBC reporter Colin Patterson for an interview.
Patterson began the interview by asking Scott if he knew fellow Irish actor Barry Keoghan. “I know Barry,” Scott replied.
The interviewer went on to ask Scott about his reaction to the final scene of Keoghan’s BAFTA-nominated film. salt burnwhich depicts the actor dancing naked around a manor house to the tune of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder on the Dance Floor.
Even though Scott “didn’t want to spoil it for anyone,” Patterson continued to follow him for his thoughts on the scene.
“People talk a lot about prosthetic limbs, but how much do you know?” he asked. In response, Scott walked out of the interview. “Too much?” the reporter finally asked.
On Friday (February 23), the BBC issued a statement in response to Patterson’s questions about actors who attended the ceremony in support of his film. We are all strangers.
The broadcaster said: “Our questions to Mr Andrew Scott were intended to be a light-hearted reflection of the debate on the ground and were not intended to offend.”
The BBC confirmed that both Ellis-Bextor and director Emerald Fennell had been asked similar questions.
“However, we accept that a particular question of Mr. Andrew Scott was misjudged. After speaking to Andrew on the carpet, reporters confirmed on air that his questions may have gone too far. He admitted that there was, and said he was sorry if that was the case.”
As for X, people were quick to criticize the BBC interview, with fellow Film Focus Online reporter Alex Gilston writing that the questions asked of Scott were “frankly offensive”.
“Strange energy from the interviewer,” another social media user said in the comments section. “First of all, Andrew Scott’s performance was absolutely amazing and they should have talked about this.”