Jayme Lawson Blasts BAFTA and BBC After N-Word Outburst; Lindo and Jordan Saluted at NAACP Image Awards

At the NAACP Image Awards red carpet, jayme lawson condemned what she called exploitation after last weekend’s BAFTA incident, in which a guest’s outburst included the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage. Her remarks preceded standing ovations for the pair in Pasadena as apologies, editing requests and questions about the British telecast continued to circulate.

Jayme Lawson on BAFTA and the

Jayme Lawson said the episode exposed an institutional failure to protect artists and audiences alike. She praised Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo for how they “handled that in real time, ” and argued that inviting someone into a space without providing “the necessary resources” to keep everyone safe is not inclusivity but exploitation. Lawson added that “that man’s disability got exploited that night, and it led to multiple offenses, ” placing blame on BAFTA and sharply criticizing the for airing the exchange. She also noted the broadcaster’s prior censorship of other material, pointing to the edited speech of Akinola Davies Jr., director of My Father’s Shadow, and cited production designer Hannah Beachler as another figure the institutions failed to protect. The comments were delivered on the NAACP Image Awards red carpet as colleagues and industry members gathered inside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

NAACP Image Awards Ovation at Pasadena Civic Auditorium

Inside the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the response to the BAFTA incident was emphatic. Regina Hall, identified as the star of One Battle After Another, asked the audience to “take a moment” for Jordan and Lindo, prompting a loud standing ovation. Deon Cole, host of the Image Awards telecast, used his opening monologue to rib the situation with a pointed joke: “Lord, if there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette’s, I advise you to tell them they better read the room tonight. ” Later in the ceremony, Quinta Brunson — who won the Image Award for outstanding actress in a comedy series — took a moment to salute the Sinners cast and crew, telling them, “We see you. We are behind you, ” and “We support you, and we love you. ”

John Davidson, Apologies and the Broadcast Decision

John Davidson, the Tourette’s campaigner whose involuntary outburst contained the slur, and BAFTA issued statements and apologies following the international controversy. Davidson 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. The aired the outburst in a tape-delayed broadcast, a choice that has drawn scrutiny, particularly because the studio behind Sinners, Warner Bros., had requested that the moment be edited out before transmission. Those editorial decisions have kept the episode in the headlines and raised fresh questions about duty of care at major awards broadcasts.

Ryan Coogler, Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan Respond

Delroy Lindo and Ryan Coogler addressed the atmosphere inside the Image Awards ceremony while presenting together. Lindo thanked the audience for its support: “We appreciate all the support and the love that we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend. It means a lot to us, ” he said, calling the moment “a classic case of something that could be very negative becoming very positive. ” Coogler remarked on the power of a room where Black stories are central rather than footnotes, and Lindo added that it is “a room where being fully seen is not rare, it is expected. ” The filmmaker’s vampire thriller Sinners is the most-nominated project at the Image Awards this year, and Michael B. Jordan is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year.