Sinners Star Delroy Lindo Calls Out How Bafta Handled N-Word Tic Incident
Sinners actor Delroy Lindo has admitted he’s disappointed with the way Bafta reacted to an incident he found himself at the centre of during this year’s ceremony.
On Sunday night, Delroy and Michael B Jordan – who had both been nominated for Baftas off the back of their performances in Sinners – presented the first award of the ceremony, for Best Visual Effects.
During their introductory speech, Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson experienced an involuntary tic and shouted the N-word from the auditorium.
John had been attending the Baftas with the cast and crew of I Swear, a film based on his life story.
After the slur was shouted, the two briefly paused before continuing to present, with host Alan Cumming first thanking the audience for their “understanding” and later apologising to anyone “if you are offended tonight”.
Speaking to Vanity Fair after the event, Delroy said that he and Michael “did what we had to do” by carrying on with the night’s proceedings.
However, he said he wished “someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards”.
On Monday night, Bafta issued an apology to Delroy and Michael in a lengthy statement, taking “full responsibility” for the incident.
“At the Bafta Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many,” Bafta told HuffPost UK. “We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all.
“One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette Syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for better understanding of this condition. Tourette Syndrome causes involuntary verbal tics, that the individual has no control over.
“Such tics are in no way a reflection of an individual’s beliefs and are not intentional. John Davidson is an executive producer of the Bafta-nominated film, I Swear, which is based on his life experience.”
The statement continued: “We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion. We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.
“Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room. Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.
“During the ceremony, John chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.
“We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy.”
John also spoke out for the first time on Monday, stating: “I am, and always have been, deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.”