The Bafta controversy has entered its third day.
Independent director and producer Jonty Richardson said on social media that he would step down as a BAFTA jury member over the British Academy’s handling of the racial slur he shouted at him. Sinners Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for Best Visual Effects.
Tourette’s activist and BAFTA-nominated executive producer I swear Introduced to the audience at the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, John Davidson warned the audience about Tourette’s Syndrome, a condition characterized by sudden, involuntary, repetitive movements or sounds, called “tics”. Davidson – who inspired his life I swearfor which Robert Aramayo won a Best Actor BAFTA – he later said that he “feels very frightened if anyone thinks my tics are intentional or have any meaning.”
The BBC has apologized for failing to remove the slur from the latest broadcast, which was broadcast after a two-hour delay on the BBC. BAFTA also took some criticism for its botched situation, apologizing “unreservedly” to Jordan and Lindo while defending Davidson’s right to be at the ceremony.
Tuesday afternoon, Hollywood Reporter Received confirmation that the executives in Sinners Warner Bros. studio has teased Immediate concerns with BAFTA over the tic, requesting the slur be removed from the BBC broadcast. It is understood the studio has been given assurances that this message will be passed on to the BBC and producer Penny Lane TV quickly. A meeting was held between BAFTA and Warner Bros. executives. Monday.
THR I looked at how the night unfolded in detail here, and later spoke to people with Tourette’s syndrome to assess the significance of that moment.
In a statement on Facebook Monday night, Jury Richardson said the “handling of Tourette’s unfortunate incident involving the N-word” was “absolutely inexcusable.”
“I cannot and will not contribute my time, energy and expertise to an organization that has repeatedly failed to uphold the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community,” Richardson said. “This is especially unfortunate given that this year’s lineup boasts some amazing Black talent, especially one of my favorite shows of 2025, Just act normal“.
“However, when an organization like BAFTA, with its long history of systemic racism, refuses to acknowledge the harm done to both black and disabled communities and offer a proper apology, to remain involved would be tantamount to condoning its behaviour.”
He added that he hoped BAFTA leadership would understand the damage it and the BBC had caused, and would take the necessary steps to ensure its production staff were comprehensive enough to prevent such a problem in the future.
Host Alan Cumming interrupted his monologue several times during Sunday’s program to remind viewers: “Tourette syndrome is a disability and the tics you heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person with Tourette syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you felt offended tonight.”
As part of their full statement on the matter, BAFTA said: “We take our duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion. We have taken measures to make attendees aware of tics, and have announced to the audience before the ceremony begins, and at all times, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, sounds or tics during the ceremony.”
“We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism,” BAFTA said, adding that Davidson chose to leave the hall and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen. “We would like to thank [Davidson] “For his dignity and consideration for others, in what should have been a night of celebration for him.”
The British Academy added that it bears “full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation.” The full apology can be found here.
