{"id":7962469,"date":"2026-02-23T17:04:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T01:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/?p=7962469"},"modified":"2026-02-23T23:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T07:51:19","slug":"baftas-n-word-debacle-bad-ears-bad-decisions-bad-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/industry-news\/awards\/baftas-n-word-debacle-bad-ears-bad-decisions-bad-history\/","title":{"rendered":"BAFTA\u2019s N-Word Debacle Was a Perfect Storm of Bad Hearing, Bad Decisions and Bad History | Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

The producers didn\u2019t hear it, the apologies were tone-deaf, the awards show was derailed and an organization that has spent much of the last decade trying to prove it\u2019s not racist has a big problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the fallout from Sunday\u2019s EE BAFTA Film Awards, during which Tourette\u2019s syndrome activist John Davidson, the subject of the film \u201cI Swear,\u201d erupted in epithets at the stage from the audience, including yelling the N-word as \u201cSinners\u201d stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davidson left the hall during the first half-hour of the show, and host Alan Cumming explained the outbursts and thanked the audience<\/a> for \u201cunderstanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.\u201d Later, he added, \u201cTourette\u2019s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you\u2019ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette\u2019s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when the BBC broadcast of the ceremony aired two hours later, the shouted slurs were still audible, despite the fact that the show was being edited to fit its time slot. The offensive language wasn\u2019t removed until Monday morning, when BAFTA and the BBC issued apologies<\/a>, almost 24 hours later. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"John\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tRead Next<\/strong>
\n\t\t\tTourette's Experts Agree There's No Easy Answer to John Davidson's BAFTAs Outburst: 'Tics Are Involuntary'<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the BAFTA Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many,\u201d the BAFTA statement began. \u201cWe want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologize to all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, the initial \u201cwe apologize if you are offended<\/em>\u201d statement rankled many as weak tea. And the failure to make edits on a show that is known for being trimmed on the fly seemed to be the exact wrong way to react to a regrettable situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did it go so badly? As usual, the show began at 5 p.m. in London but the broadcast didn\u2019t begin until 7 p.m., with the BBC editors cutting the show down to two hours as it was going on. The version that aired showed a dozen of the 28 awards in quick montages and edited out a winner saying \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and Paul Thomas Anderson using the word piss<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"John
John Davidson and actor Robert Aramayo attend the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards Nominees’ Party at the National Portrait Gallery on Feb. 21, 2026 in London. (Karwai Tang\/WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But it didn\u2019t cut Davidson\u2019s outbursts. According to a report in The Guardian<\/a> that didn\u2019t give a source, \u201cIt is understood that the producers overseeing the ceremony for the BBC were doing so from a truck and say they simply did not hear the slur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was heard in the auditorium clearly enough that Cumming was asked to address it onstage twice, which makes the lack of communication between the hall and the editing truck all the more inexplicable. When they heard the host\u2019s comments, did the editors not think they should try to find what he was talking about? (TheWrap asked BAFTA and BBC representatives about the failure to edit the offensive comments but did not receive a response.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Backstage, meanwhile, no apologies or explanations were forthcoming to Jordan and Lindo, the latter of whom  told Vanity Fair<\/a> he and Jordan \u201cdid what (they) had to do\u201d in the moment, but that neither of them were approached by BAFTA officials afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the moment with Lindo and Jordan onstage below. (Warning: The clip audibly includes Davidson shouting the slur.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delroy Lindo says him and Michael B. Jordan did \u201cwhat we had to do\u201d to continue presenting at the BAFTAs after John Davidson shouted the N-word in an involuntary tic.

He said he wishes \u201csomeone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.\u201d

(Source: https:\/\/t.co\/CetXlW2PDv<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/QM425fPt2M<\/a><\/p>— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 23, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>