BAFTA Jury Member Steps Down Over ‘Utterly Unforgivable’ Handling of N-Word Incident

A member of one of the British Academy’s juries has stepped down from his position following Sunday night’s N-word controversy at the Film Awards.

Jonte Richardson, a Black writer and producer, has resigned from BAFTA’s emerging talent judging panel, citing the organisation’s “utterly unforgivable” handling of the incident in which Tourette’s syndrome activist John Davidson involuntarily shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage.

“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,” Richardson wrote on social media.

The incident prompted a firestorm of anger which snowballed further when the BBC failed to cut the outburst from their time-delayed broadcast. Late on Monday, BAFTA put out a statement in which it said that it took “full…