Michael B. Jordan’s Former Co-Star Speaks Out After He Was Called the N-Word by BAFTAs Attendee With Tourette’s: ‘Nah, He Meant That S—t’
StyleCaster Editors
The BAFTA Awards brought with them a lot of controversy, and it wasn’t about who attended or didn’t attend. It wasn’t even about who won or lost. It was a specific moment that happened during the telecast, one that saw John Davidson, who has Tourette’s Syndrome, shout the N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo when they were presenting onstage. The biggest controversy? The fact that the moment even aired, considering the show was pre-taped, and a remark in support of Palestine was cut out.
Not everyone is content with the Tourette’s explanation, though. Jamie Foxx, who starred with Michael B. Jordan in the 2019 legal drama Just Mercy, criticized John Davidson, who was the inspiration for the BAFTA-winning biopic “I Swear.” Under an Instagram post discussing the moment, Foxx wrote, “Nah he meant that s**t.”
Related: Who has Michael B. Jordan dated?
He also added, “Out of all the words you could’ve said Tourette’s makes you say that?” and “Unacceptable.”
Foxx wasn’t the only one, as actor Wendell Pierce also said, “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throatted [sic] apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur.” Meanwhile, Sinners’ production designer Hannah Beachler criticized BAFTA’s “throwaway” apology.
Davidson left the ceremony after his outburst.
Host Alan Cumming thanked the audience for their “understanding” and apologized, explaining that “Tourette Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.”
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines Tourette’s Syndrome as “a neurological disorder that may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics.”
Before the ceremony, Davidson had spoken to CNN about his condition and how the BAFTA ceremony could be a trigger. “Certain things — like today, lots of people around, I’m feeling very, you know, motor tics, in case I lash out. Different situations can trigger different emotions and tics,” he said.
A BBC spokesperson told Radio Times: “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.
“We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”
Lindo and Jordan have yet to officially comment, but Vanity Fair reported that at an afterparty, Lindo said the two “did what we had to do” by continuing to present the award, but that he wished “someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards.”
In a statement Davidson said he was “deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning”. He added: “I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette’s community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so. I chose to leave the auditorium early into the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”
