Delroy Lindo receives standing ovation as he addresses BAFTAs racial slur controversy in first public comments

Delroy Lindo has publicly addressed the controversy at the BAFTAs for the first time since the event, to a standing ovation.

Lindo and Michael B Jordan had been on stage at the award ceremony when John Davidson, who has Tourette's syndrome and was present for a movie about his experience with the condition, shouted a racial slur.

The incident has sparked enormous controversy, with the BAFTAs and the BBC being heavily criticized for their handling of the situation, which has been viewed by many as failing to properly protect and accommodate both Lindo and Jordan, as well as Davidson.

Speaking at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium at the NAACP Image Awards, Lindo addressed the incident, saying: "I’d just like to officially say, I appreciate, we appreciate all the support and love we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend. It means a lot to us."

Lindo has addressed the BAFTAs controversy (Emma McIntyre/WireImage)

The audience got to their feet to applaud Lindo during his speech.

Jordan would go on to accept the award for best actor in a movie, and dedicated the award to Chadwick Boseman, the late star of Black Panther.

He would also go on to win the award for entertainer of the year, saying in his speech: "The world needs more unity, more grace, more empathy."

Before the ceremony Jayme Lawson praised Jordan and Lindo over the 'grace and dignity that they exercised'.

She also criticized the BBC and BAFTAs for failing to properly protect attendees.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet, Lawson said: "Just because you invite someone into a space but you don't provide the necessary resources to keep them and everyone else in that room safe by them being there, that's not inclusivity. That's exploitation.

"That man's disability got exploited that night and it led to multiple offenses. That's the BAFTAs fault."

Lindo appearing at the 57th NAACP Image Awards (Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)

In an interview with Variety after the BAFTAs incident, Davidson said that he was given assurances before the ceremony that any tics would be edited out prior to broadcast.

He also said that during the broadcast there was a microphone positioned near to where he was seated, which he questioned the wisdom of knowing it was likely that he would tic during the evening.

"I remember there was a microphone just in front of me, and with hindsight I have to question whether this was wise, so close to where I was seated, knowing I would tic," he told the outlet.

Davidson added that he had been experiencing tics throughout the evening, but media coverage falsely gave the impression that the only incident was the one involving the racial slur.

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