BBC apologises for mistaking actress Viola Davis for Beyoncé in coverage of singer becoming most decorated artist at the Grammys
- Beyoncé’s record-breaking 32nd Grammy was being reported on by the BBC
- Award-winning actress Viola Davis won her first Grammy for best audio book
The BBC has apologised for showing a picture 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 Davis with a caption: ‘Beyoncé’s big night’.
The BBC was covering 41-year-old Beyoncé’s historic 32nd Grammy Award, which she won for her 2022 record Renaissance in the best dance/electronic album category.
While Viola Davis, 57, achieved EGOT status – winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award – at the awards ceremony by winning best audio book for her autobiography Finding Me.
Social media users have criticised the mistake and accused the media organisation of failing to tell the difference between the two successful black women.
The BBC apologised for showing a picture of Viola Davis while reporting on Beyoncé’s (pictured) record-breaking Grammy win
Viola Davis, 57, achieved EGOT status by winning best audio book for her autobiography Finding Me
A BBC spokesperson apologised for ‘briefly’ showing a photograph of Viola Davis from January’s Golden Globes with a tagline about Beyoncé
Viewers took to Twitter after spotting the error, with one posting a screenshot of the blunder, writing: ‘Who’s gonna tell @BBCNews?’
‘I’m guessing it’s a mistake but with all their resources BBC have zero excuse for this,’ responded another social media user.
But others claimed it was a screengrab from rolling coverage which showed a number of Grammy winners, including Davis and Harry Styles, running with the Beyoncé tagline.
One person said: ‘I actually think this is just a case where they ran the major headline across the televised coverage, basically the tagline isn’t changing regardless of who is on the screen throughout the segment.’
While another user, who posted the picture, said: ‘It was an image they showed repeatedly, 3-4am GMT, which moved me to act & bring it to the BBC’s attention. Obviously they made a mistake & not for the 1st time.’
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We apologise for the mistake last night when our news channels briefly showed a photograph of Viola Davis from January’s Golden Globes alongside a headline about Beyoncé at yesterday’s Grammys.
‘This fell below the BBC’s usual standards.’
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