How the BAFTAs Bungled Its Response to a Racial Slur, Jayme Lawson Calls It 'Exploitation' (jayme lawson)
Actor jayme lawson used the NAACP Image Awards red carpet to criticize how the BAFTA Awards and the subsequent broadcast handled an incident in which a guest shouted a racial slur at presenters. Her comments intersected with the public reaction that greeted Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo at the Image Awards in Pasadena, where the two men received visible support from peers and audiences.
Jayme Lawson on inclusivity, support for Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo
Lawson praised Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo for the way they handled the moment onstage, offering "a big shout-out to Mike and Delroy" and urging continued honor for how they acted in real time. Speaking on the NAACP Image Awards red carpet, Lawson said that inviting people into a space without providing resources to keep everyone safe is not inclusivity and added, "That's exploitation. " She framed her remarks around the treatment of the two Black men who were the targets of the outburst.
What happened at the BAFTA Awards: John Davidson's outburst and aftermath
The disturbance at the British awards ceremony involved guest John Davidson, identified in coverage as a Tourette syndrome campaigner, who uttered the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage to present. Davidson later said he "felt a wave of shame" when he realized the crowd could hear his involuntary tics and questioned why he had been seated so close to a microphone. Representatives for BAFTA and John Davidson issued statements and apologies after the incident.
Broadcast choices and a studio's request to edit the moment
Questions have persisted about why the moment was broadcast in a tape-delayed telecast and why it aired after a studio requested that the segment be edited out. Lawson criticized the decision to air it as careless and a real lack of care for Jordan and Lindo. She also said that certain other words had been censored in the broadcast and noted that Akinola Davies Jr. 's speech — Davies being the director of My Father's Shadow — was censored, a detail Lawson used to underscore her point about whose voices were protected. Lawson named production designer Hannah Beachler when arguing that people who work behind the scenes were not protected in the same way.
NAACP Image Awards reaction in Pasadena: applause, standing ovations and calls for solidarity
The NAACP Image Awards ceremony, held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, turned into a show of support for Jordan and Lindo. Regina Hall asked the audience "to take a moment for the two kings who are in this audience, " gesturing toward Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo seated in the crowd, and the actors were met with loud applause and standing ovations. Host Deon Cole used a joke in his opening monologue that referenced Tourette's, and Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson — who won the Image Award for outstanding actress in a comedy series — told the Sinners cast and crew, "We see you. We are behind you, " adding, "We support you, and we love you. "
