A BBC News reporter has been accused of asking "deeply homophobic" and "absolutely disgusting" questions to actor Andrew Scott after he spoke to Colin Paterson on the Baftas red carpet.
Scott, 47, was at the awards do despite missing out on a Best Actor nod as All of Us Strangers was still up for Best Film and several other awards.
Speaking to the press on the red carpet before taking his seat in the auditorium, Scott had been fielding questions about his latest film in which he stars alongside Paul Mescal.
But when he got to the BBC's Paterson, the line of questioning soon turned to Scott's pal Barry Keoghan.
Keoghan starred in the much-talked-about 2023 blockbuster Saltburn and has been the subject of viral chatter online due to his participation in a nude scene that closes the film.
"Do you know Barry well?" Paterson asked Scott in a snippet from their interview which has since been shared thousands of times online.
BBC 'homophobia' row: Colin Paterson and Andrew Scott's interview has since gone viral online
BBC
"I know Barry, yeah," Scott replied with a smile before Paterson continued: "Okay, your reaction when you first saw the naked dance scene at the end of Saltburn..."
Clearly uncomfortable with the line of questioning, Scott awkwardly laughed before another reporter chipped in: "No spoilers."
"Oh jeez," Scott said before he tried to bat away the question. "Okay, well I won't spoil it for anybody. It's great, it's great."
But Paterson wasn't deterred as he continued to probe: "You can spoil away..."
Baftas 2024: Andrew Scott starred in the nominated movie All of Us Strangers
GETTY
"No, no. I won't spoil it for anybody," an irked Scott replied as he began to motion away from Paterson.
But the BBC reporter didn't stop there as he asked: "There is a lot of talk about prosthetics, how well do you know him?"
Scott awkwardly chuckled again and moved away from Paterson, who laughed and quipped: "Too much! Too much."
After the moment surfaced on social media, several viewers slammed Paterson's line of questioning, branding it "homophobic" given that Scott identifies as gay.
"There’s is something so deeply homophobic about asking Andrew Scott a gay man this weird a** question about Barry’s scene in Saltburn??" One fan hit back. "Ask him about all of us strangers the BAFTA nominated film he is in… 'how well do you know Barry' Andrew deserves an apology from the BBC."
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Andrew Scott: The All of Us Strangers actor was clearly uncomfortable
BBC
A second also praised Scott's response: "Andrew Scott is an absolute prince for handling this so well. He could easily have told this w****r to f*** off, and no one would mind."
Meanwhile, a third reacted: "Yeah awful. Please remember how lucky you are to be presenting on a national broadcaster and don’t ask questions like this next time. Poor Andrew Scott."
"This is frankly disgusting," another slammed. "Andrew Scott is there to support his multiple nominated film and THIS is what you ask? Then when he looks visibly uncomfortable the guy carried on. Truly horrid. #BAFTAs."
A fifth fumed: "This is actually dreadful. And you can bet that this would not have been asked if Andrew wasn't gay. This is not simply lousy journalism; it is also obvious homophobia."
And a sixth furious fan hit out: "Asking a gay actor about another man's dick in a f****** red carpet interview is so absurdly homophobic because it's creepy but also you're assuming because that person is gay they must have liked it/have thoughts about it because 'queers are sex-crazed'. Absolutely disgusting." (sic)
GB News has contacted the BBC for comment.
