BAFTA and the BBC have issued apologies to Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo following the racist slur incident during Sunday’s BAFTA awards ceremony.
The racist slur was heard while the Sinners co-stars were presenting an award.
BAFTA said it “apologises unreservedly” and takes full responsibility.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has issued a statement, apologising to Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo over a racist slur during the awards ceremony. BAFTA took “full responsibility” for the offensive slur uttered by an audience member with Tourette syndrome. The racial slur was used when Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award on Sunday night.
BAFTA apologises to Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo for racial slur at the awards show
In the statement, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts wrote, “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 stated further.
BBC issues an apology to Sinners stars
The BBC apologised for not editing out the racial slur from its BBC One broadcast. It remained on BBC iPlayer on Monday morning before the ceremony was removed. A BBC spokesperson said: “We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”
The statement read, “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.”
BAFTA racist slur incident
During the BAFTA 2026 awards ceremony, Jordan and Lindo, who are both Black, were on stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall, presenting the award for Best Visual Effects to James Cameron's Avatar: Fire and Ash. While they were announcing the winner, Tourette’s syndrome campaigner John Davidson involuntarily used the N-word, leaving everyone surprised. Even after the racist slur, both continued to present the award.
Alan Cumming BAFTA address
Later, BAFTA host Alan Cumming paused the ceremony to address expletives and racial slurs.
“The tics you have heard tonight are involuntary — that means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language and we apologise if it has caused offence,” Cumming said.
Davidson was among the audience for the BAFTA-winning film I Swear, which was inspired by his life. He reportedly left the ceremony midway.
