Note: I apologize for not being able to find a photo or usable screencap for Jonte Richardson, the subject of this post. Instead, I’m including photos of Ryan Coogler, who won a BAFTA for the Sinners screenplay, and Alan Cumming, who was host of the BAFTAs and the person who apologized “IF you were offended” by John Davidson’s repeated use of the n-word. I’m also including a photo of John Davidson, the man whose involuntary Tourette’s tics involved repeatedly shouting the n-word at Black artists at the BAFTAs, artists including Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo and Hannah Beachler, all of whom were BAFTA-nominated for Sinners.
As you can imagine, the fallout from the BAFTA debacle is still ongoing. It took 24 hours for John Davidson to issue a public apology for his involuntary use of the n-word at the BAFTAs. The BBC apologized solely for airing Davidson’s n-word scream despite the BAFTA broadcast being on a literal two-hour delay. And 24 hours after BAFTA organizers wordlessly allowed Black artists to be racially abused throughout their show, they apologized as well. I have my doubts that BAFTA and John Davidson would have issued apologies if this debacle had not become such a heated international conversation. Well, Black British filmmaker Jonte Richardson also has some profound concerns about how this was handled. So he’s resigning from BAFTA’s emerging talent judging panel. Here’s what Richardson posted online:
After considerable soul-searching, I feel compelled to withdraw from the BAFTA emerging talent judging panel. 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”. 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.
I hope BAFTA leadership comprehend the damage they and the BBC have caused and take the necessary steps to ensure their production staff are inclusive enough to prevent such an issue in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Jonte Richardson
[From Jonte Richardson’s LinkedIn]
I’m glad he did this and I’m glad he made this statement. The outrage coming from British people was so… different than what I was expecting. Like, Black Americans really are at the forefront of saying “no, we must be given the same care, comfort, dignity and respect as white people in general, and especially in professional settings.” It was like so many British people adopted the perspective of “intent is all that matters, who cares if people were hurt if John Davidson didn’t mean it.” I can’t believe there was a debate, you know? But yes, this was a catastrophe from start to finish and BAFTA f–ked it all up, as did the BBC. It’s still shocking to me that the BBC aired the n-word with zero editing, and that no one from BAFTA spoke to MBJ, Delroy Lindo or Hannah Beachler after Davidson screamed the n-word at them in a professional setting.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
