The BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) has released an apology after Tourette’s syndrome campaigner John Davidson shouted a racial slur at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while they presented the award for best visual effects at the award ceremony on Sunday.
Michael and Delroy, the stars of Sinners, were presenting the Best Visual Effects award at the 79th annual awards show when John could be heard shouting a racist slur, the N-word.
BAFTA apologises
On Monday, BAFTA issued a statement mentioning that it takes “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all.” The organisation also apologised “unreservedly” to Michael and Delroy.
The incident had sparked outrage in the film community and social media over BAFTA and the BBC’s decision not to cut the racial slur and swearing from the broadcast, despite the show airing with a two-hour delay.
“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 read.
The note continued, “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.”
Through the statement, BAFTA also mentioned that it wanted to “apologise unreservedly” to Michael and Delroy.
The statement 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.
“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 organisation also acknowledged John who, after leaving the ceremony, watched the rest of the show from a screen.
It said, “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,” concluded the statement.
More about the stir
The awards ceremony witnessed an unexpected disruption when Tourette’s activist John Davidson shouted a racist slur (the N-word) while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage, sparking controversy online. Michael appeared momentarily taken aback, pausing briefly as Delroy attempted to regain composure and carry on with their presentation.
Later, host Alan Cumming paused the show and explained that the ‘strong language’ wasn’t voluntary but from John, who has Tourette’s. John was at the awards show, as he’s the subject of the film I Swear, in which he’s played by Robert Aramayo. He is known for speaking openly about living with Tourette’s syndrome. He has worked for years to raise awareness and support others with the condition. In 2018, he received an honour from Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts.
On Monday, John said he was “deeply mortified” after shouting the racial slur at the awards ceremony, which he said was caused by an “involuntary tic”.
