Delroy Lindo spoke to Vanity Fair at one of the 2026 BAFTA after parties and said that he and “Sinners” co-star Michael B. Jordan “did what we had to do” when the N-word was shouted out as they were presenting the award for best visual effects to “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Lindo added that he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.”
Variety has reached out to BAFTA for comment.
The slur was shouted by John Davidson, who is diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Davidson attended the BAFTAs as the subject of the nominated biopic “I Swear.” The film’s leading star, Robert Aramayo, won the best actor prize during for playing Davidson, whose condition causes him to produce involuntary vocal tics.
As reported by Variety: “A number of outbursts from Davidson could be heard throughout the BAFTA ceremony, including ‘shut the fuck up’ being shouted during an introductory speech from BAFTA chair Sara Putt and ‘fuck you’ when the directors of ‘Boong,’ which won the BAFTA for best children’s and family film, accepted their award.”
Sources told Variety after the ceremony that floor managers warned guests and attendees sitting around Davidson of his condition, without specifying what kinds of outbursts they might hear. According to multiple sources, none of the nominees or attendees were contacted by BAFTA or BBC ahead of the show with any such warnings.
BAFTAs host Alan Cumming thanked the audience during the ceremony for their understanding after Davidson had several outbursts, including shouting the N-word.
“You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming said. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
The host added later on during the ceremony: “Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.”
The BAFTAs came under even more scrutiny after the tape-delayed broadcast aired later that night on the BBC with Davidson’s use of the N-word still audible. The BBC then apologized for not editing out the racial slur and removed it from from the version of the BAFTAs streaming on iPlayer.
After pulling the BAFTA Film Awards from iPlayer early Monday afternoon, a BBC spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional. We apologize that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”