this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
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The ceremony aired on a two-hour delay on BBC One in the U.K. and on E! in the U.S. and yet the slur remained in the broadcast. Deadline noted that other remarks were censored, including the BBC cutting Akinola Davies Jr.’s “free Palestine” comment at the end of his speech.

I can excuse the dude with the verbal tic having an outburst, understandable. What gets my goat is that you fucks censored the Free Palestine comment instead.

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[–] homhom9000@hexbear.net 42 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Before y'all start

If someone with Coprolalia had a tic to shout "let's fuck" whenever they saw a child, we'd rightfully be taken aback. Maybe forgiving after having the disorder explained but hard to say for that kids parents.

I use this analogy because for some reason when it comes to Black people, people forget we're humans with ongoing racial history and slurs are always harmful and always offensive especially in a highly public event.

He should apologize directly to the Black folk that were impacted, not to the general audience who couldn't give a damn that he said hard R - they can keep the general apology.

[–] OttoboyEmpire@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

people forget we're humans with ongoing racial history and slurs are always harmful and always offensive especially in a highly public event.

this is a mentally ill person w/ a condition which makes him transgress taboos. obviously yelling racial slurs is rightfully a shameful thing to do. no one is forgetting that-- that reasonable taboo is precisely what he couldn't help but trangress.

He should apologize directly to the Black folk that were impacted, not to the general audience

i imagine he did. do you think he should have made a public, private apology?

[–] ItsVibesAlltheWayDown@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago (3 children)

From what I've seen, he didn't specifically apologize to the people affected and instead made a broad apology. It's a shitty situation, but I think him not immediately apologizing to the Delroy and Jordan makes me less immediately sympathetic to him. It's possible he offered private apologies but it doesn't seem like that's the case so far.

[–] LaughingLion@hexbear.net 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Should he be required to do this every time he has a tic?

EDIT:

So apparently people feel very strongly about this. I have a cousin with this condition. It is not conscious and not directed when a tic like this happens. It's literally a disability. From an early age he's learned to be generally apologetic when an offensive tic comes out. All the fucking time. Once people know he has the condition it's generally understood they are to be ignored at that point and ignoring them actually helps them diminish in frequency. Anxiety around tics really pushes them out more. People were warned ahead of time that neuro-divergent people were in the crowd who may have uncontrollable tics.

It isn't directed. It doesn't work that way. So the article even saying it was shouted "at" these men is incorrect fundamentally. It was shouted. That's it. The guy left after the incident which is what happens often. Neuro-divergent people like this are consistently not welcomed into neuro-normative spaces and neuro-normatives have many demands that must be met before they can be tolerated in only the most performative ways.

That is how it is because it's condition that interrupts all neuro-normative spaces. Pretty much always. It's more or less unavoidable. To demand so much extra effort be placed on the neuro-divergent because their uncontrollable condition interrupted neuro-normativeness is so ridiculous to me that it edges firmly into ableism. I'm sad to see this kind of ableism accepted in this community.

I think Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo are graceful men and handled it fine. I think the host handled it fine. I think the apology from Davidson was fine. I think the main villain here is the broadcaster for not just censoring the word (they clearly are reveling in the controversy, fuck them) and BAFTA themselves for not stepping up to make sure Mr Jordan and Mr Lindo were fully up to speed and not actually being prepared for the inevitable.

[–] homhom9000@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

If his tic is saying slurs to Black people then absolutely.

[–] LeonTreatsky@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

His tic is saying the most inappropriate thing to anyone in any situation. I'm not sure how he's supposed to function mentally if he has to apologise to people endlessly.

[–] ItsVibesAlltheWayDown@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

No, but a big public setting like this seems an appropriate time for it. Not saying he needs to flagellate himself nor have even apologized in the heat of the moment. There are plenty of ways to make up for an incident like this, even well afterwards. He still might. I'm not saying the guy is beyond redemption or saying anything beyond where my initial sympathies lie. Sinners is an important black film, this was an event that was, amongst other things, honoring black art and black people during black history month and now much discussion about Sinners will be hijacked by this incident. An incident that many people will use in bad faith. Look at the times we live in. Idk for me personally, I apologize for so much less than this so it just seems strange not to actually apologize to the persons most directly affected.

Shitty situation.

Edit: I also don't love how people have been emphasizing how much we should feel for this guy but nearly none of that same empathy has been extended to the black people affected. Yeah it would suck to have this condition. It would also suck to get berated because of your skin color and then get told you don't even deserve an apology.

[–] LaughingLion@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago

To be clear this was a choice by the broadcaster to not censor it out. They censored out other things in the broadcast.

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[–] durruticore@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm not ItsVibes, what you said shouldn't happen but I think it's be reasonable he did it at least every time he used a slur against a minority person (for example this case) and the other person didn't know about his condition

The whole point of apologizing is first and foremost to acknowledge damage done. People who are aware of his condition might (and only might) not be as hurt, and that's why in those cases such a strong apology might not be needed.

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[–] homhom9000@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

i imagine he did. do you think he should have made a public, private apology?

Last I saw, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo didn't get one.

[–] Redbolshevik2@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It's not "whenever they saw a child"

He has an uncontrollable condition, and I'd say easily 8/10 people online complaining about him are claiming that he chose to say what he said.

How does my patience for ignorant bullshit affect you?

[–] homhom9000@hexbear.net 10 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Does he say it to white people?

You do not need to explain tourettes, I understand tourrettes. It's almost patronizing to assume this is a conversation about not understanding what a disability is.

This is a conversation on mitigating harm, and you can cause harm and slurs cause harm even if you're disabled and it's unintentional. Asking for some kind of apology or accountability is the least that can be done.

Brushing this off surprised we (Black people) are offended is shallow bullshit.

[–] Keld@hexbear.net 18 points 1 month ago

Does he say it to white people?

He says fuck the queen to the queen, he says he has a bomb in crowds, he confesses to random crimes to cops. If he thought cracker was extremely inappropriate he would likely yell that at white people.
You say you understand, but that question reveals that you do not.

[–] LeonTreatsky@hexbear.net 13 points 1 month ago

You're asking a man who involuntarily says the most taboo thing in any given situation to annihilate his self worth on the daily by constantly having to apologise for his existence.

No one should be asked to do that. I'm sorry that his existence makes you uneasy.

[–] Redbolshevik2@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Thank you for demonstrating my point. Genuinely perfect rendition of the "You're racist for assuming I don't understand Tourette's" followed by ignorance of Tourette's. Chef's kiss. This is why I have no grace.

[–] OttoboyEmpire@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

me, listening to michael b jordan's speech interrupted by involuntary racial epithets on repeat, conspicuously shaking my head to let ya'll know i disagree.

[–] Keld@hexbear.net 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

His tic is saying the most inappropriate thing at the time. It is not a specific tic, he says whatever he shouldn't say and he can't not. Those affected by that (Which doesn't just include the people on stage, but an entire PoC audience) have every right to feel however they feel about it, be that hurt, humiliated, threatened, denigrated or whatever combination of that is applicable. Given the history of that term and the way it happened in the middle a moment celebrating a cultural achievement of black artists I would be fully understanding of having been affected by the outburst... But John Davidson did not intend to cause offense, and had no meaningful way of not doing what he did, and that must be taken into account. (And to a lesser extent it should also be remembered that this is also deeply humiliating for him)

[–] CocteauChameleons@hexbear.net 33 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Damn I looked into this guy's condition, feel hella bad for everyone involved. Death to the BBC

[–] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Must be a hellish condition to live with for sure.

[–] CocteauChameleons@hexbear.net 26 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I have some really bad OCD ruminations, if I had tourrettes I'd be cooked

[–] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 22 points 1 month ago

I have some really bad OCD ruminations

Same! I got diagnosed with OCD right after my mom passed. I still have intrusive racist thoughts, but I'm on meds for that and it soothes it quite a bit. Residual brainworms from when I was a chud.

[–] Thordros@hexbear.net 30 points 1 month ago

geordi-no Censoring racial slurs.

geordi-yes Censoring facts that make fascists Big Mad.

[–] MaoTheLawn@hexbear.net 28 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Yes, I read into this a bit as well. Very tough situation on all sides. Apparently he said racial slurs to another black cast/crew member three times on the night too.

Coprolalia is apprently one of the most difficult forms of tourettes - with it basically just making you anxious about saying the worst thing possible to say - and then blurting it out.

You see it in the movie that was based off him - where he blurts out he's smuggling heroin to policemen, or getting into fights with people bigger than him.

Apparently in real life he yelled "Fuck the queen" as he was getting knighted, shouted to police that he had a bomb, and then yelled at Prince Charles that Camilla takes it up the ----.

Disgraceful that the BBC didn't edit out the incident at the ceremony, and handled it like they did, but did edit out the Palestine moment (and apparently another joke from the host about tensions in America). Someone should've been there to give more of an apology than 'sorry if you were offended' too.

I do get that maybe it's tough because you're then editing out a person's disability on an evening when their disability is at the forefront of a movie that's being celebrated, but on the whole I don't see an upside to keeping it in. It's upsetting for Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo - along with any other black person who's seen it really - and the man with tourettes has been ripped apart - with Jamie Foxx even saying 'he meant it'...

[–] SorosFootSoldier@hexbear.net 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

with Jamie Foxx even saying 'he meant it'...

Jesus Christ! The guy should know better, fucking ableist bullshit.

Seems a bit unproductive to do that if what you meant to do was show how racist you are. People might assume you have a disability and didn't mean it.

[–] WhatDoYouMeanPodcast@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

So I never saw Sinners, but if the movie explores that, and I don't know how it does, then I think I'd side with not censoring it because of that. I think obviously someone goes up to the duo to explain and apologize and it seems that what the center of the controversy is. In my mind censoring-not censoring is secondary and the headline that centralizes the illness seems mortifying if I were in his shoes. I know "Half-hearted apology after awkward moment" isn't good input for the outrage machine, but that's what the situation should be. If someone on crutches fell onto the red carpet while you're walking, you wouldn't be like "you asshole!" This should be the kind of embarrassing that he should talk about in a stand up comedy routine, not blasting him into the news.

[–] MaoTheLawn@hexbear.net 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Oh no, Sinners explores severe racism and cultural appropriation - white vampires try to infiltrate a blues party, to steal their music and bodies - or something along those lines, I don't know, I didn't really enjoy it that much so I never tried to get to the bottom of it.

I meant that the man with tourettes had a movie about his life being celebrated at the BAFTAs, with lots of nominations and the coveted 'best male actor' going to the lead of the movie Robert Aramayo - portraying the man with tourettes in the audience.

Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were talking about Sinners at the time it happened, but its all on the same evening. As I said, I think they should've just censored it for everyone's sake, but I can see some sort of argument as to why they didn't.

[–] WhatDoYouMeanPodcast@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

@ChestRockwell@hexbear.net

Ohhhhh, I definitely skimmed the article and what you were saying and came away believing the duo were talking about a movie in which tourettes was being explored as a theme when it happened.

Then yeah, censoring would have been prudent. But all the same, the fallout should have been negligible because someone apologizes to the two actors. Short of that, the controversy should have been the negligence of the hosts. And I suppose they optimized for clicks with the title while trying to do justice with the first sentence being

Lindo said he and his "Sinners" costar "did what we had to do" while presenting, but he wished "someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards."

So a lot of annoyances along the way to get to this point. It made for sloppy handling of the situation. Even if you're not prepared, you, the people in charge of the event, not the person with the disability, just go up to them and say sorry.

[–] ChestRockwell@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago

Just to clarify for you, Sinners isn't the movie about Tourettes - it's the one that MBJ/Delroy Lindo are in. I didn't watch the documentary tho, so IDK much about this guy in the documentary.

[–] Athena5898@hexbear.net 19 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Find the racists easy edition.

  1. They were able to censor Free Palestine on live TV but not a fucking slur

  2. He did it to a total of 3 different group of people.

  3. Yes he has a tick he should still apologize. Speaking as a autistic person with my own issues its not a excuse.

  4. There was just so many different ways this could of been handled and prepared for, but since its Black people all the white people are crawling over themselves to yell about how its not a big deal or its ableist for Black people to be offended for being god damn jumped like this. Those poor people went into full fight or flight mode. Why are we supposed to be understanding of a slur but not the Black people getting disrespected by EVERYBODY here? Cause let's be honest the way this is being handled and talked about says a lot.

  5. I'm so tired of people using disability as a shield for critcism of racism. It makes life difficult for people with said disability btw and its not helping anyone to pretend things can't be done about it. Stop using us as a proxy to be racist and hurt Black people. Sick of this shit.

If you truly dont see the problem I demand you go follow bunch of Black people somewhere online and just listen. Don't interact, just sit there and listen.

[–] LeonTreatsky@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

I don't get the point of your post other than ableism? If John Davidson had to apologise for every tic he just wouldn't be able to function as a person. No one should have to apologise for existing.

Not to mention that he probably does apologize for a good majority of them. I know I do whenever my tics cause issues (although I am very lucky to have my condition not be anywhere near as severe as Davidson's)

[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Incidentally it also revealed this site isn't remotely safe for POC like at all, apparently there are hexbears who believe disability induced racism is a thing and it's acceptable and questioning it make you ableist

[–] worlds_okayest_mech_pilot@hexbear.net 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

When you intentionally misunderstand and misrepresent Tourette's syndrome to such an absurd degree, obviously you're going to get called ableist. I would not even think to question a PoC voice about being justifiably upset over this incident or dismiss their thoughts and feelings. But no way am I listening to anyone who calls a condition that I and many other people suffer from a "fake racism disability" or whatever absurd strawman you've conjured.

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[–] Redbolshevik2@hexbear.net 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

John Davidson is not a racist for having a neurological condition that forces him to vocalize things.

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[–] Redbolshevik2@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Should I listen to Cuban voices too

[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Black people not wanting to be called slurs are gusanos, good take you got there

[–] Redbolshevik2@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I don't subscribe to standpoint epistemology because I'm an adult.

[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Unless of course its someone shouting slurs, in which case you're a premium subscriber

[–] Redbolshevik2@hexbear.net 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 5 points 1 month ago

Says the one calling Black people gusanos for practicing rudimentary self-care

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