Jamie Foxx has branded John Davidson's outbursts at the BAFTA Awards "unacceptable".
At the first award was presented at the event on Sunday (22.02.26) evening, viewers heard the N-word being shouted out by John Davidson - whose journey with Tourette's syndrome inspired biopic I Swear - as Black actors and Sinners castmates Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo spoke on stage.
Although both host Alan Cumming and the BBC, who broadcast the ceremony, have apologised for the "involuntary verbal tics" that could be heard from the audience, Back in Action star Jamie has questioned the intent behind John's words.
Commenting on an Instagram post from The Neighborhood Talk about the incident, he wrote: "Nah, he meant that s***.
"Unacceptable."
He also questioned: "Out of all the words, you could've said Tourette's makes you say that?
Fellow actor Wendell Pierce has also hit out at the apology for not directly addressing Michael and Delroy.
He wrote: “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throatted apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur.(sic)"
Sinners' production designer Hannah Beachler alleged she also had a racist slur directed at her and criticised the "throwaway apology" during the ceremony.
She wrote on X: "I keep trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs, and I can't find the words. The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show.
"And a third time at a Black woman. I understand and deeply know why this is an impossible situation. I know we must handle this with grace and continue to push through. But what made the situation worse was the throw away apology of "if you were offended" at the end of the show.
"Of course we were offended...but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened.
"I am not steal, this did not bounce off of me, but I exist above it. It can't take away from who I am as an artist.(sic)"
The BBC issued another apology on Monday (23.02.26) and promised their ceremony coverage will be re-edited to remove the slur after it was included in their broadcast.
A spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the Bafta film awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional.
"We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”
However, the broadcaster has not explained why it was not edited out but a joke from Alan appearing to refer to US president Donald Trump and a comment about the Israel and Gaza conflict made by Akinola Davies Jr. were both cut from the programme.
The ceremony was pre-recorded by the BBC, and although John's outburst could be heard on TV, his exact comments weren't clear to viewers.
Furthermore, while Alan's initial apology wasn't included in the broadcast, a later statement was aired.
He said: "Tourette’s syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s syndrome has no control over their language.
"We apologise if you are offended tonight.”
