The backlash from the bigotry put on display by John Davidson at the BAFTAs is still reverberating and up until this point, we had not heard very much from the perpetrator himself.
That has changed.
According to PEOPLE, Davidson has finally released a statement that was not as much of an apology as a great many people, Black people specifically, would have wanted…
I’ve been waiting all week until the dust settles after the weekend at the BAFTAs in London,” he wrote. “I would like to thank each and every one of you who have shown love, support and solidarity towards myself and the rest of the Tourette’s Community.
“Your kind words and support have got me through a very difficult week,” Davidson continued.
Honestly, he could have just kept this. The thing that people issuing “apologies” seem to consistently fail at miserably is naming the specific harm and naming the specific people harmed. Any statement of contrition is worthless and disingenuous if those two things are not present. Of course John Davidson doesn’t have to apologize for having Tourette’s and people who have been diagnosed with the disease should be respected and protected. However, that doesn’t exonerate them from accountability.
Meanwhile, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo have been feeling the love from on stage to another starting at the NAACP awards where they presented the award for best supporting actress in a film alongside Sinners director Ryan Coogler. Lindo took a moment to address the elephant in the room and to give thanks for the support since the BAFTA incident.
“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.”
Thanks but no thanks, John Davidson. Be well.
