Sinners star Wunmi Mosaku revealed the “painful” BAFTAs backlash “tainted” her victory that night, and slammed the BBC for airing the N-word: “Not sure I can forgive it.” However, she clarified that there are “no hard feelings” towards Tourette’s Syndrome activist John Davidson.
The BAFTAs should have been a night of shining celebration for Mosaku and the Sinners team. Yet, when she cried that night, she wasn’t shedding tears of joy thanks to BAFTA and the BBC mishandling the situation. As BOSSIP previously reported, Davidson yelled the slur multiple times throughout the ceremony, including when Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan were onstage to present the best visual effects award.
Like the rest of the film’s cast and crew who’ve spoken out, Mosaku places no blame on Davidson’s involuntary tic. In a red carpet interview at the 2026 Actor Awards, she opened up about the difficult moment and its aftermath with Entertainment Tonight. She echoed co-star Jayme Lawson in calling out the BAFTAs & BBC’s “exploitation” of Davidson’s condition, noting that he also deserved better protection that night.
“I was there and it was painful to have that celebration really tainted for me. I have no hard feelings towards John Davidson at all. He has a condition!” she emphasized, showing compassion for the involuntary tic.
“I feel like BAFTA has a lot of lessons to learn. I think [Sinners costar] Jayme Lawson said it yesterday. It felt exploitative and performative to have someone there without the full protection of everyone – including him – and anyone in that audience. There were children in that audience. That’s one thing,” she began.
“And then the BBC is a whole other thing. That’s the bit that really kind of kept me awake at night and brought tears to my eyes. I was like, ‘You really chose to keep that in.’ I can’t understand it. And I’m not sure if I can forgive it,” Mosaku continued.
BAFTA jury member Jonte Richardson felt the same way because the “utterly unacceptable” leadership choices prompted a resignation. The fact that the Loki star had to address that pain between back-to-back sweeps at the NAACP Image Awards and SAG-AFTRA Actor Awards drives home Mosaku’s point about the “tainted” moment. Regardless of the challenges Sinners and its creatives face, fans and peers continue to surround them with support.
Several comments praised Lawson and Mosaku for clarifying that the involuntary tics and Coprolalia themselves weren’t the issue, but that BAFTA and the BBC could and should have done better. Davidson later revealed in an interview that he dreaded his tics offending someone. Yet, a microphone was “unwisely” placed right in front of his seat and the BBC edited other speech that night while leaving the N-word in the broadcast. As the BBC reportedly investigates the incident, all eyes remain on Sinners.
This year has one of the most highly anticipated Academy Awards after the film earned a record-breaking 16 nominations in every eligible category. No matter how hard fans root for the Ryan Coogler creation on March 15, this iconic cultural moment is all we need to know that Sinners is a winner.
