BBC Apologises After Using Photo Of Viola Davis To Illustrate Beyoncé Grammys News Story

During a BBC World News bulletin, a photo of the Oscar-winning actor was used for a story about "Beyoncé's big night".
Viola Davis and Beyoncé at the Grammys on Sunday night
Viola Davis and Beyoncé at the Grammys on Sunday night
Kevin Mazur/Timothy Norris/Getty

The BBC has issued an apology after a photo of Viola Davis was used to illustrate a story about Beyoncé during a news report about this year’s Grammys.

During a broadcast in the early hours of Monday morning – when the Grammys ceremony was still ongoing – BBC World News teased an upcoming story about how it was shaping up to be “Beyoncé’s big night”, as she came close to breaking the record for most wins ever.

However, this was teased using a photo of Viola Davis at the Golden Globes a month earlier, for which an apology has now been released.

.@BBCWorld Maybe fact-check your pics? 🙄 @violadavis @Beyonce #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/HzzaN01nLU

— Lianne Kerr (@LianneKerr) February 6, 2023

Who’s gonna tell @BBCNews 🤔🫤☹️ @RecordingAcad #Grammys pic.twitter.com/kdir14pij9

— Dr Tru Powell (@Tru_Powell) February 6, 2023

“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,” a statement issued by the BBC on Monday read.

“This fell below the BBC’s usual standards.”

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.

— BBC News Press Team (@BBCNewsPR) February 6, 2023

This year’s Grammys were a big night for both Viola Davis and Beyoncé.

Viola earned EGOT status on Sunday, when she won a Grammy for the Audio Book version of her memoir.

She also presented an award to Beyoncé early on in the ceremony, although the singer was unable to receive it in person as she was stuck in the infamous LA traffic.

Later in the night, Bey became the night’s big winner with a total of four awards, making her the person with the most Grammys in history.

However, the Album Of The Year prize ended up eluding her for the fourth time in her career, with Harry Styles’ latest release Harry’s House receiving the honour instead.

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