BAFTA Apologizes to Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo Over Racial Slur: ‘We Would Like to Thank Them for Their Incredible Dignity and Professionalism’

The BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) issued an apology letter on Monday after John Davidson, a Tourette’s Syndrome campaigner, hurled a racial slur at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while they were presenting the Best Visual Effects Award at the ceremony.

The “Sinners” actors were presenting the Best Visual Effects Award at the 79th Edition of BAFTA when John uttered the N-word. 

In the apology statement, BAFTA mentioned that it takes “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation and we apologize to all.” 

The organization “unreservedly” apologized to Michael and Delroy. The statement further read, “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 apologize to all.”

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“One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette's syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for a better understanding of this condition. Tourette's 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 note continued.

The statement explained the controversial situation as it read, “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.”

Praising Jordan and Lindo for their professionalism, the organization wrote, “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 apologize unreservedly to them and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.”

It acknowledged that John watched the entire ceremony from a screen after leaving the ceremony. 

“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 apologize 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,” concluded the statement.