"Good for him for walking away": Andrew Scott BBC interview sparks outrage as question leaves actor uncomfortable

On February 18, at this year's BAFTA Awards, actor Andrew Scott was present to support the nominees for his 2023 queer fantasy romance All of Us Strangers. However, he ended up making the headlines when BBC reporter Colin Paterson asked him an awkward question that visibly left him uncomfortable.

While walking on the red carpet, Andrew Scott was asked about his reaction to Barry Keoghan’s nude scene in the 2023 film Saltburn. The Fleabag star smiled, dodged the question more than once, and then left to talk to another reporter.

In the wake of a now-viral video revealing the interaction, the BBC and Colin Paterson are now facing backlash for asking Andrew Scott the bizarre question and leaving him uneasy. In this regard, X user @becboynton commented under @PresenterAlex’s tweet condemning the same.

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“And the award for ‘most awkward cringe-worthy @BAFTA red carpet question ever’ goes to”: BBC comes under fire for Andrew Scott BAFTA question

At Sunday’s British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards or BAFTA 2024, Andrew Scott walked the red carpet and met with journalists to talk about his 2023 nominated film All of Us Strangers.

However, instead of asking anything about his own movie, BBC reporter Colin Paterson asked Scott about his friendship with Saltburn star Barry Keoghan. When Andrew said that he knew the fellow Irish actor, Paterson further asked whether he watched Keoghan’s “naked dance scene at the end of Saltburn” and his reaction to the same.

This is when things took an awkward turn and Scott attempted to brush off the question only to face another awkward question, “There is a lot of talk about prosthetics. How well do you know him?”

The Sherlock star let out a laugh at this point, seemingly uncomfortable, and said, “Okay, well, listen I won’t spoil it for anybody, but it was great,” while seemingly shaking his head in disbelief at the question.

When the BBC reporter asked him to “spoil away,” the 47-year-old Scott refused and then hurriedly moved on to talk to the next reporter, appearing ill at ease; and Colin Paterson asking, “Too much?”

The video of the incident has now surfaced on the internet garnering enough traction and criticism for the BBC. While some netizens felt that asking a gay man like Scott about another man’s naked scene was no less than homophobic, others slammed the BBC for asking nothing about Andrew’s nominated film and focusing on something unimportant. Some have even demanded an apology from the BBC and Colin Paterson for the inappropriate questions.

Here are some of the reactions from X.

So far, neither Andrew Scott nor the BBC have not addressed the controversy.

While the Spectre actor was not nominated for All of Us Strangers, his film earned six nominations, including in the Outstanding British Film category and the Best Actor nomination for fellow actor Paul Mescal. However, the film won no awards on Sunday night.

However, Mescal and Scott took the stage during the BAFTA Awards 2024 to present the Best Animated Feature Award to Studio Ghibli for The Boy and the Heron.

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For those unaware, Barry Keoghan, the star of Saltburn who was nominated for the Best Actor award stole the limelight for his naked scene in the manor house at the end of the psychological dark thriller comedy, dancing to English singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bestor’s hit track Murder on the Dancefloor.