Delroy Lindo 'wishes Bafta' had reached out following racist slur during award: 'Did what we had to do'

Mr Lindo told Vanity Fair that he wished "someone from Bafta spoke to us afterwards."

The pair were presenting the best visual effects award to Avatar: Fire and Ash when the N-word was heard across the Royal Festival Hall auditorium.

Reflecting on the moment, Mr Lindo told the magazine that he and Mr Jordan "did what we had to do," continuing with their presentation despite the slur being audible to the audience and television viewers.

The outburst came from John Davidson, a Scottish Tourette's syndrome campaigner who was attending the ceremony as the subject of the nominated biopic I Swear.

Mr Davidson's condition causes him to produce involuntary vocal tics, which were picked up by microphones in the venue and broadcast on BBC television.

The film about his life collected three awards at Sunday's ceremony, with Robert Aramayo winning the Rising Star prize for his portrayal of Davidson, whom he described as the "most remarkable man I've ever met."

Mr Davidson has dedicated himself to raising awareness of Tourette's syndrome through public speaking and activism, receiving an honour from Queen Elizabeth II in 2018 for his efforts to increase understanding of the condition.

He previously featured in the 1989 documentary John's Not Mad.

Mr Davidson's tics were heard on multiple occasions throughout the evening's proceedings.

During Bafta chair Sara Putt's introductory remarks, "shut the f*** up" could be heard, while "f*** you" was shouted as the directors of Boong accepted their award for best children's and family film.

Host Alan Cumming paused the ceremony to address the situation, thanking attendees for their patience.

"You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette's syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience," Mr Cumming explained.

"Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone."

He later added: "Tourette's Syndrome is a disability and the tics you've heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette's Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you are offended tonight."

The BBC faced criticism after the delayed broadcast aired later that evening with the racial slur still audible to viewers.

The corporation subsequently issued an apology and removed the offensive language from the version available on iPlayer.

A BBC spokesperson stated: "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."

A representative from Bafta told GB News: "At the Bafta Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many.

"We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all.

"One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette Syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for better understanding of this condition.

"Tourette Syndrome causes involuntary verbal tics, that the individual has no control over.

"Such tics are in no way a reflection of an individual’s beliefs and are not intentional. John Davidson is an executive producer of the BAFTA nominated film, I Swear, which is based on his life experience.

"We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion. We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.

"Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room. Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted.

"We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.

"During the ceremony, John chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.

"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."