Bafta judge resigns over 'failure to safeguard Black guests' after outburst by Tourette's sufferer

A British film-maker has announced he will resign as a Bafta judge over the organisation’s handling of the incident surrounding a racial slur being yelled at two black actors by a Tourette Syndrome campaigner.

Jonte Richardson said Bafta had "repeatedly failed to safeguard the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community".

Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan, stars of the hit horror film Sinners, were presenting the award for special visual effects when John Davidson shouted the N-word from the stalls.

The audience at the Royal Festival Hall had been briefed before the ceremony began that Mr Davidson, whose story was adapted into the acclaimed film I Swear, was in the audience and might shout inappropriate language.

Now, Mr Richardson said he decided to step down from his position at a judge at the organisation, saying he had gone through "a lot of soul searching" in making the decision.

He wrote on his LinkedIn profile: "The organisation's handling of the unfortunate Tourette's N-Word incident last night at the awards was utterly unforgivable.

"I cannot and will not contribute my time energy and expertise to an organisation that has repeatedly failed to safeguard the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community.

"This is particularly unfortunate given that this year's cohort boasts some incredible Black talent, especially one of my favourite shows of 2025 'Just Act Normal'."

He continued: "However, when an organisation like Bafta, with its own long history of systemic racism, refuses to acknowledge the harm inflicted on both the Black and disabled communities and offer an appropriate apology, remaining involved would be tantamount to condoning its behaviour."

Mr Richardson, who is an advocate of diverse voices in the industry, is a director, writer, producer and editor.

He worked in both the UK and the US on projects including Channel 4’s Bluefinch and award-winning productions for BET and HBO.

In a statement to reporters, Mr Davidson said he chose to leave the auditorium early as he was "aware of the distress my tics were causing."

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The BBC apologised for not editing the racial slur out of the broadcast and a spokesman for the corporation said: "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."

Mr Richardson addressed the response by Bafta and the BBC, saying: "The Bafta apology is considerably better than the BBC mumbled sidestepping.

"But the fact that it took 24 hours and intense backlash to get here suggests that despite its claims, Bafta remains inherently unsafe for black and disabled people."

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the BBC had made "a horrible mistake" by not editing the word out at the time, adding: "I think an apology is important, they need to explain why it wasn't bleeped out."

The BBC also came under fire for editing a section of the speech from My Father’s Shadow director Akinola Davies Jr.

Mr Davies expressed solidarity to "those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution and those experiencing genocide."

He continued: "To those watching at home, archive your loved ones, archive your stories yesterday, today and forever. For Nigeria, for London, Congo, Sudan, Free Palestine."