BAFTA apologises following racial slur incident at awards ceremony

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BAFTA apologises following racial slur incident at awards ceremony

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Writer: Heidi Hsia

Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage when the outburst occurred

25 Feb - BAFTA has recently released a statement of apology, following the incident involving Tourette's campaigner, John Davidson, who shouted racial slurs at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo during the awards ceremony.

Acknowledging the harm that it has caused, the organiser stated, "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."

It is noted that Davidson is an executive producer of the BAFTA nominated film, "I Swear", which is based on his life experience, and of which Robert Aramayo won Best Actor for the same night.

It 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."

It is noted that Davidson had several outbursts in the 25 minutes he was in the room, including saying the N-word and shouting "Shut the f*** up" when BAFTA chair Sara Putt made her introductory remarks.