around the scandal, detailing BAFTA’s decision-making process after becoming aware of brewing allegations.
The outlet revealed that industry figures including award-winning film director Sally El Hosaini, talent development manager and former BAFTA employee Pelumi Akindude and actor James Krishna Floyd, a 2013 BAFTA Breakthrough Brit award winner, went to the org after Clarke’s award was announced, flagging their “extreme concern” and suggesting BAFTA conduct its own due diligence around him.
While BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar was evidently distressed about the org’s difficult position, he made it clear that further action couldn’t be taken without direct testimony from a victim. However, the report notes that El Hosaini had told Majumdar and chief executive Amanda Berry in a Zoom call that women were afraid of going directly to BAFTA due to Clarke’s influence in the industry.
Ultimately, “BAFTA’s lawyers said the information it had received did not enable it to take any action or warrant suspending the award,” reports The Guardian. “They point out that intermediaries were unable to put them in direct contact with women making allegations.” Speaking to The Guardian, Akindude describes the revelations as “a call for BAFTA and other institutions to look at how they’re awarding their honours. Are they carrying out due diligence? If you’re selecting someone for an honour like that, are you checking they’re running their sets properly?”