'They broke me': BBC pays Oscar-winning producer $762,000 over antisemitism claims

The BBC has paid AU$762,000 to Lucie Kon, a former Storyville Commissioning Editor and Executive Producer on Oscar-winning Mr Nobody Against Putin. Kon says she faced antisemitism at the broadcaster after the 7 October attacks.

According to Deadline, the payout is the first of its kind from the BBC over antisemitism claims. It comes despite an internal BBC investigation that did not uphold her complaint.

READ MORE: Trump must answer questions under oath in his lawsuit against the BBC

READ MORE: BBC says having bare nails “is proof you’re a white supremacist”

The complaint

Kon told The Telegraph she was victimised after the 7 October attacks. Among other claims, she said she was told that Zionists like her were “evil”. She raised a formal grievance with BBC management and pursued it through the broadcaster’s appeals process.

In her interview with The Telegraph, Kon described how her standing within the broadcaster changed.

“I went from a BBC journalist who happened to be Jewish to a Jewish journalist at the BBC,” she told the newspaper. “It was like having Jew stamped on my forehead.”

“I think I became a problem,” Kon said. “I think I made too much noise about being a Jew inside the BBC. I stood up for my community. I was open about being a Zionist.”

She also told The Telegraph the experience took a heavy personal toll.

“The BBC dumped me, isolated me and sent me round the twist,” she said. “They broke me.”

In a separate interview with the newspaper, Kon said the BBC “isn’t full of anti-Semites but it does have a problem with anti-Semitism.”

The BBC’s response

A BBC spokesman welcomed Kon’s acknowledgement that the BBC is not “institutionally antisemitic”.

“The BBC processes did not uphold any of Ms Kon’s allegations of antisemitism. However, the outcome acknowledged shortcomings and the personal impact on Ms Kon. We would like to acknowledge that Ms Kon was a valued member of staff with many years of dedicated service to the BBC,” the spokesman said.

One feels the word “institutionally” is doing a mighty lot of heavy lifting here.

Who is Lucie Kon?

Kon worked as a Commissioning Editor at Storyville, the BBC’s documentary strand, for several years before leaving in 2025. In that role, she was one of the executive producers on Mr Nobody Against Putin, which won Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards. Her other credits include We Will Dance Again and Sundance winner One in a Million.

Storyville under scrutiny

Since 7 October, the BBC has faced repeated questions over how it handles antisemitism, and Storyville has been at the centre of them. Shortly after the attacks, Emma Hindley, then Lead Commissioning Editor at Storyville, made headlines when she embraced a director on stage. That director was later accused of making antisemitic remarks. The BBC later said the hug happened because the director was “visibly distressed” and that it did not endorse his views.