BBC apologises for mistaking actress Viola Davis for Beyoncé in Grammy coverage
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BBC apologizes for mistaking actress Viola Davis for Beyoncé in coverage of the singer who became the most decorated artist at the Grammys
The BBC has apologized for showing a photo of Viola Davis while reporting on Beyoncé’s record-breaking Grammy win.
During the broadcaster’s coverage of the 65th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, they showed an old image of Oscar-winning actress Ms. Davis with the caption: “Beyoncé’s Big Night.”
The BBC was covering the historic 32nd Grammy Award for Beyoncé, 41, who won for her 2022 album Renaissance in the category of best dance/electronic album.
Meanwhile, Viola Davis, 57, achieved EGOT status, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award, at the award ceremony for winning best audiobook for her autobiography Finding Me.
Social media users criticized the mistake and accused the media organization of not noticing the difference between the two successful black women.
The BBC apologized for showing a photo of Viola Davis while reporting on Beyoncé’s (pictured) record-breaking win at the Grammys.
Viola Davis, 57, achieved EGOT status by winning best audiobook for her autobiography Finding Me
A BBC spokesman has apologized for ‘briefly’ showing a photo of Viola Davis from the Golden Globes in January with a tagline about Beyoncé.
Viewers took to Twitter after spotting the bug, with one posting a screenshot of the bug and writing: “Who’s gonna tell @BBCNews?”
“I guess it’s a mistake but with all their resources the BBC has no excuse for this,” another social media user replied.
But others claimed it was a screenshot from ongoing coverage showing several Grammy winners, including Ms. Davis and Harry Styles, running around Beyoncé’s catchphrase.
One person said: “Actually, I think this is just one case where they ran the main headline on TV coverage, basically the tagline doesn’t change regardless of who’s on the screen for the entire segment.”
While another user, who posted the picture, said: “It was a picture they showed repeatedly, 3-4am GMT, which motivated me to take action and get BBC attention.” They obviously made a mistake and not for the first time.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We apologize for the mistake last night (Monday morning) when our news channels briefly showed a photo of Viola Davis from the Golden Globes in January alongside a headline about Beyoncé at the Grammys in yesterday”.
“This fell below the usual BBC standards.”