Delroy Lindo has revealed what went through his mind in the split second after a racial slur was shouted at him on stage at the BAFTA Film Awards, and it turns out his first instinct was simple.
He sinners star, 73, appeared on NPR Fresh air on Thursday, March 5, where she talked about the time John Davidson, 54, a Tourette syndrome advocate, involuntarily shouted the n-word while Lindo and co-star Michael B. Jordan presented an award at the Feb. 22 ceremony.
Lindo was aware and, at first, reluctant. When Mosley introduced the topic, he responded with a laugh.
“Can I stop you for a second? With all due respect,” he said. “With all due respect, I’m not actually going to talk about this. I laugh because in the introduction when you said, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll talk about what happened with the BAFTAs,’ I chuckled because I said, ‘No, we won’t.'”
However, he went on to describe what was happening internally at that moment, and the picture he painted was one of extraordinary composure under pressure.
“You have to understand, we had work to do. We were the first presenters of the evening,” he explained.
“And we had to read that teleprompter, and we both did exactly that. Now, a couple of people who know, my wife says I adjusted my glasses, and she said she knew, when I adjusted my glasses, that something was happening internally. But there was a nanosecond where I thought, ‘Wait, did I hear what I thought I heard?'”
He added: “But then, and it really was a nanosecond, you had to read the teleprompter and continue with the award presentation. So, you know, there was no time at all. I processed the same way I processed in a nanosecond, Mike did the same, and we went on and did our job.”
Davidson had been invited to the ceremony as a representative of the film. I swearwhich is based on his own life and experiences with Tourette syndrome.
The film won the BAFTAs for Best Leading Actor and Best Ensemble. In a March 1 Facebook post, Davidson addressed the fallout.
“While I will never apologize for having Tourette syndrome, I will apologize for any pain, discomfort and misunderstanding it may create,” he wrote, adding that the experience reminded him how much work remains to be done to raise awareness about “such a misunderstood condition.”
BAFTA formally apologized to both Lindo and Jordan on February 23, after the BBC broadcast the incident unedited.
Lindo had previously spoken briefly about the episode at the NAACP Image Awards on February 28, where she thanked those who showed their support afterward.
