‘Sinners’ stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were subjected to the slur live, then again and again across subsequent broadcasts. Why?
By: Rivea Ruff
Essence
https://www.essence.com/
Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo are experiencing career highs on the back of their 2025 smash hit horror thriller, Sinners. Each has delivered critically acclaimed performances, helped bring Black art and creative oversight to the forefront of cultural conversation, and anchored the most nominated film in Academy Award history.
However, last night in a room full of their industry peers in London, while taking the stage to laud the accomplishments of fellow film creatives, they were called n—-rs.
The slur was hurled at them from across the room as they presented the award for Best Visual Effects during the 79th annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts award ceremony. Lindo noticeably paused after the loud outburst, but moved on with the presentation without comment or reaction.
The slur has been attributed to John Davidson, Tourette Syndrome advocate and subject of the BAFTA-nominated British independent film, I Swear, which focuses on his multi-decade struggle with the condition.
Tourette Syndrome, also referred to as TS or simply Tourette’s, is a nervous system condition that causes repeated involuntary physical and/or vocal tics according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Though most commonly associated with the condition, involuntary shouting of swear words and crude language, known as coprolalia, is actually considered a rare symptom.
It is worth noting that Davidson had multiple audible vocal tics throughout the evening, shouting phrases such as “bullsh-t” and “shut the f–k up” during other introductions and acceptance speeches in the show’s first 25 minutes. However, his outburst during Jordan and Lindo’s appearance is the only time he was heard uttering the n-word.
The shock and offense of Davidson’s unfortunate outburst already hang heavily. The fact that his nervous system only led his words to a racial slur upon the sight of Jordan and Lindo on stage is inauspicious. But similarly off-putting is the repeated call for grace and understanding for Davidson and his condition, while both the BAFTA and BBC elected to leave his tics in the broadcast, unedited. The moment aired, unedited, across the UK on a two-hour delay, and was also broadcast in the United States several hours later on E!
Lindo spoke with Vanity Fair about the incident at a BAFTA after-party, stating that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while on stage presenting the award. However, he wishes that “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterward.” The BAFTAs have since apologized for not editing it out.
It begs the question of when the extension of grace should end and the expectation for personal responsibility begin. Davidson has knowingly grappled with coprolalia for his entire adult life. What provisions did he fail to make to maintain the respectful silence an awards gala calls for? BAFTA and the BBC were both well aware of the possibilities of abrupt, offensive language that could not only sully winners’ big moments but also insult and humiliate those present. Why weren’t live editors prepped to censor outbursts on the spot? Furthermore, why was the moment when two prestigious Black men were reduced to n-words broadcast and rebroadcast across the globe?
This choice is even more glaring amid the Deadline report that Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jr., the British-Nigerian brothers behind the film My Father’s Shadow, had the phrase “free Palestine” cut from their acceptance of Outstanding British Debut. Apparently, the BBC did indeed make preparations to edit out material they deemed too “politically charged.”
The N-word aimed at two Black actors was deemed perfectly appropriate for broadcast. But the “politically charged” words of two Black filmmakers were not.
After the N-word incident, host Alan Cumming made several statements addressing the elephant in the room, explaining the effects of TS and apologizing for any strong language heard during the event, soon after Lindo and Jordan presented the first award of the evening. But one statement in particular stood out: “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
While the audience, the viewers, and most importantly Jordan and Lindo were subjected to the most pervasive racial epithet aimed against Black people, they were called to simply understand and accept it.
Amid an onslaught of disrespect, this quiet abidance in the face of the utmost offense somehow secures a respectful space for “everyone.”
For as many calls for understanding that were made throughout the evening to ensure the comfort of one attendee, nothing was done to protect the dignity of those subjected to the insults – however involuntarily they came about.
