David Tennant opened the BAFTAs this year with a stunning performance of I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers, but it was his controversial opening monologue that’s getting all the attention. Or rather, what BBC chose to cut from his opening monologue when it aired on screen.
According to reports from inside the BAFTAs, Tennant took the opportunity to make a joke about Donald Trump, likening the US president to Beetlejuice and calling him a villain.
What did David Tennant say about Donald Trump?
‘[The Brutalist] is a film about incredible architecture,’ Tennat said. ‘In fact, it’s the boldest architecture in film this year, apart from Donald Trump’s hair in The Apprentice. Donald Trump, he says he hasn’t seen The Apprentice, because it’s a 15. It’s not on Nickelodeon. Donald Trump. I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice – I have summoned him. And talking of villains…’
Tennant then went on to talk about two of the horror films up for awards at the BAFTAs, Heretic and Nosferatu. It’s quite the innocuous joke, right? Well seemingly, it was too much for the BBC. According to Deadline (and any viewers watching at home), the BBC has chosen to cut Tennant’s jokes from his opening monologue.
Now, it should be said that the entire award ceremony happens prior to its airing on the BBC because it has to be edited down for length. The BAFTA Awards in real time go on for over two hours, but the ceremony is edited down for TV.
That said, there’s no doubt some will view the decision to cut a joke about Trump with a raised eyebrow. It’s a controversial time for the presidents administration right now, with US vice president JD Vance recently taking aim at the UK during the Munich Security Conference.
Accusing leaders of Europe of suppressing free speech, he chastised Britain for the case of Adam Smith-Connor who was convicted of breaching a safe zone outside an abortion clinic in 2022 and refusing requests to move on. The man had been praying outside a Bournemouth abortion clinic within the buffer zone, which were put in place to protect those who receive an abortion from harassment after decades of women being abused when attempting to access healthcare.
With the future of UK-US relations seemingly uncertain, it’s certainly a controversial time to be joking about Trump.