BAFTA leadership has promised to hold a comprehensive review of the “Sinners” N-word debacle from Sunday night, saying they take “full responsibility for putting our guests and members of the academy in a very difficult situation.”
In a Tuesday letter to members, Chair Sara Putt and CEO Jane Millichip addressed the moment when Tourettes syndrome advocate John Davidson disrupted Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo with the involuntary racial slur while they were presenting onstage. The BAFTA pair acknowledged the “highly offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many” in their apology.
“One of our guests, John Davidson MBE has Tourette Syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for better understanding of the condition. John is an executive producer of one of the nominated films, ‘I Swear.’ The film highlights that Tourette syndrome is a neurological disability that 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,” they wrote. “We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and prepared extensively in order for John to be able to be present in the room. We made 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 involuntary strong and offensive language, noises or movements during the ceremony. We fully understand our intention to be inclusive in no way diminishes the impact of what happened.”
“Early in the ceremony loud and involuntary tics, including one in the form of a profoundly offensive term, were heard by many people in the room. Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we have apologised unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We have also thanked Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism – and regret they were put in this position in the first place,” they continued. “During the ceremony, John chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we have also thanked him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.”
“We are in contact with the studios involved and conversations are ongoing. We want to assure all our members that a comprehensive review is underway. You may have also seen the BBC have issued their own apology for the broadcast,” the statement concluded. “We take full responsibility for putting our guests and members of the academy in a very difficult situation and we will learn from this. We will keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy – as firmly demonstrated by this year’s nominated and winning films.”
On Monday, jury member Jonte Richardson withdrew from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ emerging talent judging panel on Monday over the organization’s “utterly unforgivable” handling of the N-word incident.
“After considerable soul-searching, I feel compelled to withdraw from the BAFTA emerging talent judging panel. The organisation’s handling of the unfortunate Tourette’s N-Word incident last night at the awards was utterly unforgivable,” the writer and producer wrote. “I cannot and will not contribute my time, energy and expertise to an organisation that has repeatedly failed to safeguard the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community.”
“This is particularly unfortunate given that this year’s cohort boasts some incredible Black talent,” Richardson continued. “However, when an organisation like BAFTA, with its own long history of systemic racism, refuses to acknowledge the harm inflicted on both the Black and disabled communities and offer an appropriate apology, remaining involved would be tantamount to condoning its behaviour.”
“I hope BAFTA leadership comprehend the damage they and the BBC have caused and take the necessary steps to ensure their production staff are inclusive enough to prevent such an issue in the future,” the filmmaker’s statement concluded.
Richardson is just the latest to comment on Sunday’s incident, which saw Davidson involuntarily shout the N-word while Jordan and Lindo were on the BAFTAs stage. Robert Aramayo took home the Best Leading Actor award Sunday for his performance as Davidson in the film, beating fellow nominees like Timothée Chalamet (“Marty Supreme”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“One Battle After Another”), Ethan Hawke (“Blue Moon”) and Jordan (“Sinners”).
While Davidson experienced several involuntary outbursts during the ceremony, the BBC’s initial decision to not cut the N-word incident from its time-delayed broadcast of the BAFTAs has sparked a storm of controversy online. After the show, Lindo reportedly told Vanity Fair that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” to push through the difficult moment and admitted that he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.”
BAFTA released an apology for its handling of the event on Monday. “We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation, and we apologise to all,” the organization said. “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.” Davidson released his own statement about the incident Monday as well, in which he noted that he chose to leave the main BAFTAs auditorium after he realized “the distress my tics were causing.”
“I can only add that I am, and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning,” Davidson shared. “I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette’s community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so.”
However, on Tuesday, it was reported that Warner Bros. attempted to get the moment removed from the BBC broadcast, but their concerns were not addressed.
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