O Bafta took “full responsibility” for the racial insult uttered by the audience during the ceremony, last Sunday (22). The cry was uttered by John Davidsonactivist known after being the subject of the film “I Swear”, which addresses stigma and the search for awareness of Tourette syndromeat the moment when the actors Michael B. Jordan e Delroy Lindo took the stage to announce the winner of the Best Visual Effects category.
In a statement sent to Deadline, the also apologized to the actors involved and the guests present. “We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologize to everyone,” the excerpt read. “We will learn from this and keep inclusion at the center of everything we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as an essential medium for compassion and empathy.”
“We apologize unreservedly to them and everyone affected. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.”
Read the statement in full:
At the BAFTA awards ceremony last night, our guests heard extremely offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for many people. We want to acknowledge the harm caused, address what happened, and apologize to everyone.
One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette’s syndrome and has dedicated his life to educating and campaigning for a better understanding of the condition. It causes involuntary verbal tics over which the individual has no control. Such tics do not in any way reflect an individual’s beliefs and are not intentional. John Davidson is executive producer of , I Swear, which is based on his life experience.
We take our duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from an inclusive stance. We took steps to alert those present about tics, announcing to the public before the ceremony began and throughout the ceremony that John would be present and that they might hear swearing, involuntary noises or sudden movements.
At the beginning of the ceremony, a loud tic, in the form of a deeply offensive term, was heard by many people in the room. Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologize unreservedly to them and everyone affected. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.
