The Grierson Trust has removed Oscar-winning British film producer Asif Kapadia as its patron over what the trust considers to be “anti-Semitic” posts on social media.
Kapadia has apologized, telling BBC News he was “ashamed of the hurt and offense” caused by some of his posts.
In a statement on FridayThe charity said “the board was unaware of these positions” when Kapadia was appointed as one of its patrons.
“We regret that our due diligence was not thorough enough.”
The Grierson Trust is a charity dedicated to celebrating documentary and factual filmmaking in the UK and around the world.
Kapadia won an Oscar in 2016 for her documentary on Amy Winehouse and has made other high-profile documentaries, including on Diego Maradona and Elton Ayrton Senna’s documentary, just two days after Kapadia was named one of its patrons.
The charity said in a statement: “Since the Grierson Trust announced Asif Kapadia’s appointment as one of our Patrons, a number of social media posts shared by him came to our attention. These posts are anti-Semitic.
“Consequently, at our board meeting at 8am this morning we decided to withdraw his role as patron of the trust.
“The board was not aware of these positions when we decided to appoint Mr. Kapadia, some of them no longer appear to be available, and we regret that our due diligence was not thorough enough.”
It added that it was “firmly committed” to promoting free speech and diversity and inclusion within the industry.
“While we accept and support everyone’s legal right to express their views on controversial issues, this does not justify racist speech or behavior.”
It concluded by adding that it “adopts a zero-tolerance approach to racism of all kinds”.
Kapadia now appears to have deleted his X (formerly Twitter) account, although screenshots of the posts have been circulating on social media.
Responding to the decision, Kapadia said: “I am ashamed of the hurt and offense caused by some of my retweets.
“I understand now that they would have been viewed by many as anti-Semitic, or in some cases even justifying violence. That was not my intention.”
Kapadia said he was “passionate” about the fate of the Palestinian and Lebanese people.
“But I am equally passionate about all anti-racism and condemn all forms of anti-Semitism.
“I unequivocally apologize for these ill-judged retweets, which were hastily posted without proper consideration.”
