Delroy Lindo calls out BAFTA as it releases statement apologising for racial slur at him

BAFTA has released an official statement apologising for the racial slur during Sunday night’s awards ceremony, but Delroy Lindo has called out the way they handled things at the time.

Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson shouted out the N-word while Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan were presenting an award, and host Alan Cumming later apologised for the outburst, which was caused by Davidson’s Tourette’s. However, Lindo, who was nominated for his role in the American horror Sinners, has slammed BAFTA for not speaking to him after the ceremony had ended.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, he said that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” on stage, but he wished “someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards”. BAFTA has since apologised in a statement on their website, but it’s not clear whether the charity has spoken to Lindo directly following the outburst.

“At the BAFTA Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many. We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all,” the statement said. 

“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.”

Credit: BBC

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They apologised to Lindo and Jordan directly and insisted that they take “inclusion” very seriously.

“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,” the statement continued.

The charity explained that Davidson chose to leave the arena and watch the rest of the ceremony on a screen, and thanked him for his “dignity and consideration of others”.

“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,” BAFTA concluded.

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Featured image credit: BBC