The edit was made on legal advice, a decision that Bregman described as "self-censorship driven by fear" of a potential lawsuit from Donald Trump.

Details of the Incident

The Comment: During the recording of his first lecture in the 2025 series, titled "Moral Revolution," historian Rutger Bregman made several critical comments about Donald Trump, including the line "the most openly corrupt President in American history".

The Edit: The line was removed from the version of the lecture that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and published as a podcast. Other critical descriptions, such as calling Trump a "convicted reality star" and a "modern-day Caligula," were left in the broadcast.

The Reason: A BBC spokesperson confirmed the edit was made "on legal advice" to comply with editorial guidelines.

The Context: The decision came at a sensitive time, as the BBC was already facing a potential multi-billion dollar lawsuit from Trump over the editing of a separate 2024 Panorama documentary, a situation that had led to the resignations of senior BBC figures.

Bregman's Response: Bregman publicly accused the BBC of cowardice and self-censorship, stating the irony was significant given that his lecture was about institutions bending the knee to authoritarianism. He shared the unedited excerpt on social media platforms like Instagram and X.

Internal Directives: It was later reported that BBC presenters and journalists were instructed not to repeat the specific removed line in their coverage of the controversy, again citing legal reasons.