Sinners stars Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan lead outrage after N-word is shouted at them during shocking BAFTAs moment
Delroy Lindo has spoken out after his extremely disturbing moment at the 2026 BAFTA Awards, saying he wishes ‘someone from BAFTA would talk to us’ after the N-word was shouted while he and Michael B. Jordan were presenting on stage.
Lindo touched on the incident while speaking Vanity Fair He revealed at one of the BAFTA after-parties that he and his Sinners co-star ‘did what we had to do’ when presenting the award for Best Visual Effects to Avatar: Fire and Ash.
The insult was shouted from the audience by John Davidson, who attended the ceremony on Sunday evening as the subject of the nominated biopic I Swear, with the racist phrase on microphones.
Davidson was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, a neurological condition that causes involuntary vocal and physical tics.
As reported by DiversityDavidson heard multiple audible explosions throughout the ceremony.
The publication noted: ‘A series of outbursts were heard from Davidson throughout the BAFTA ceremony; These included shouting ‘shut up’ during BAFTA chief Sara Putt’s introductory speech and ‘fuck you’ as the directors of ‘Boong’, which won the BAFTA award for best children’s and family film, received their awards.’
Delroy Lindo has spoken out after his extremely disturbing moment at the 2026 BAFTA Awards, saying he wishes he and Michael B. Jordan would “have someone from BAFTA talk to us later.”
Sources told Variety that floor managers alerted guests seated next to Davidson to his condition, but did not specify what type of sonic booms might occur.
According to multiple sources, neither BAFTA nor the BBC contacted candidates or participants with such warnings before the show.
In the days following the ceremony, Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler also came forward and said that she had been subjected to the same slander that evening.
Beachler, who became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Production Design in 2018 for Black Panther, took to X to share his experience.
‘I’m trying to write about what happened at BAFTA but I can’t find the words,’ he wrote. ‘The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night and one of the three times it was directed at me on my way to dinner after the show.’
He added that the other person Davidson shouted at was also a Black woman, and while he deemed it an ‘impossible situation’, he criticized BAFTA presenter Alan Cumming’s response.
‘I know we have to handle this with grace and keep moving forward. “But what made it worse was that you apologized at the end of the show, saying ‘if you were offended’,” he said.
‘Of course we were offended… but our frequency, our spiritual vibration, was tuned to a higher level than what we were. I don’t steal, it doesn’t reflect on me, but I am above it. ‘This can’t take away from who I am as an artist.’
Video clips showing Davidson’s involuntary outburst during Lindo and Jordan’s presentation quickly went viral, and Cumming later thanked viewers “for their understanding” regarding Davidson’s situation.
Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler says Torettes campaigner John Davidson also hurled the N-word at her during the BAFTA awards when criticizing the show’s handling of the situation
Tourette campaigner John Davidson unintentionally shouted the N-word at the BAFTA Awards on Sunday night
Beachler became the first African American to win an Academy Award for Production Design in 2018 for the film Black Panther.
Describing the situation on stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Cumming told the audience: ‘You may have heard some harsh, offensive language tonight, but if you’ve seen the movie I Swear, it’s about the experience of a person with Tourette’s syndrome. ‘This is a disability and the ticking you hear tonight is involuntary, which means the person with Tourette’s syndrome has no control over their tongue and we apologize if this causes any distress.’
Tourette syndrome is characterized by involuntary vocal and physical tics and affects roughly one in 100 children, according to NHS England.
Davidson later appeared to leave the ceremony in the second half of the show as his outbursts could no longer be heard. However, Variety reported that he left voluntarily and was not asked to leave, with a source stating that he was an “invited guest” and would not be dismissed “under any circumstances.”
Davidson was previously awarded an MBE for his work raising awareness of Tourette syndrome. Recalling the proudest moment of his life when receiving the honour, he previously revealed that he involuntarily swore at Queen Elizabeth II and felt compelled to tell police officers at Holyrood Palace that he had ‘af***ing bomb!’ During security checks.
I Swear, a biopic about Davidson’s teenage years growing up in Glasgow and trying to find his diagnosis, was nominated for Best British Film but lost to Hamnet.
The film’s star, Robert Aramayo, won the BAFTA for Lead Actor, beating out standouts Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet, and also took home the EE Rising Star Award, the only publicly voted award of the night.
