Row after Bafta race abuse claims

A TV presenter today defended his decision not to name a leading figure in the fashion world who allegedly hurled racist abuse at the Baftas.

Ben Douglas claimed the man called him a n*gger eight times at the awards ceremony last week, and referred to his female companion as ’a n*gger’s bitch’.

But the theatre academy founder was adamant that he would not name the person responsible.

He said: “My motivation isn’t that I want to ruin someone’s career or to do a ’kiss and tell’, but I feel it is an opportunity to raise awareness and to put a focus on the use of that word.

“I have seen the use of that word creeping into slang. Why did this individual feel that they were able to use that word to insult me and the person I was with?”

He wrote a piece for the Mail on Sunday setting out details of what happened.

First, the man allegedly said to Mr Douglas’s female companion: “’You’re a n*gger’s bitch, that’s what you are.’

The exchange then continued:

“I said: ’Excuse me?’ He answered: ’Yeah, n*gger?’

’What did you say?’ ’N*gger.’

’I think that’s a bit off,’ I said. ’Would you mind not using that word please?’

’What, n*gger? N*gger? N*gger’s not offensive. Nothing wrong with n*gger. I know loads of n*ggers.’“

Mr Douglas said the man was initially trying to be funny, but then aggressively repeated the offensive word.

He believes that there is a problem with racism in the world of fashion.

“The people at the top of the tree have a God-like status, and no matter what they do it’s not seen as wrong,” he said.

“In the world of theatre that I’m in, people can be over the top and luvvies, but they are generally mindful and respectful of people’s feelings.

“In the fashion world it can be quite dark and these people are certainly on a pedestal.”

Questions were raised about the issue earlier this year when designer John Galliano was accused of using racist and anti-Semitic insults at a bar in Paris.

He is set to face trial next month.

A spokeswoman for Bafta said: “We were unaware of the incident until we read the newspaper story yesterday. Neither party has contacted Bafta directly about the matter but we will be investigating it further.”

Mr Douglas has received an email from someone who claims to be connected to his alleged abuser, and said he will make contact to see if it is genuine.