Delroy Lindo has spoken publicly for the first time about the incident at the BAFTA Awards in which he and Sinners co-star Michael B. Jordan had a racial slur shouted at them while presenting on stage.
The 73-year-old British-born actor addressed the controversy at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, where he was received with an outpouring of warmth from the audience.
Taking to the stage alongside director Ryan Coogler, Lindo said: “We appreciate, I appreciate, all of the support and love we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend, it means a lot to us.
He called it an “honour” to be “amongst” the “people” who showed them support.
The actor also praised the NAACP ceremony itself as “a room where being fully seen is not rare, but it is expected”, a remark that carried particular weight given the circumstances of the previous weekend.
The incident occurred at the BAFTAs when John Davidson, a guest with Tourette Syndrome, involuntarily shouted the N-word while Lindo and Jordan were on stage presenting an award.
Davidson has since said he was “deeply mortified” by what happened.
The NAACP Image Awards, hosted by actor and comedian Deon Cole and held at the 57th annual ceremony, made no effort to skirt around the elephant in the room.
Cole addressed it directly in his opening, joking: “If there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette’s, I advise you to tell them they can read the room tonight.”
