Delroy Lindo breaks his silence after racist slur controversy directed at him at the BAFTAs and gives thanks for 'love and support'

Delroy Lindo has addressed the controversy surrounding his BAFTA appearance after the N-word was shouted while he was up on stage presenting an award.

The actor, 73, who appears in the Oscar-nominated Sinners, was on stage with his co-star Michael B. Jordan when Tourette's sufferer John Davidson involuntarily shouted out the slur at the Royal Festival Hall.

But Delroy has now thanked fans for the 'love and support' he has received since the night, while at the NAACP Image Awards in California on Saturday.

Delroy, who picked up the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for Sinners, said: 'We appreciate – I appreciate – all of the support and love we have been shown in the aftermath of what happened last weekend, it means a lot to us.

'It is an honour to be here amongst our people this evening, amongst so many people who have shown us such incredible support.

'And it's a classic case of something that could've been very negative becoming very positive. Thank you so much for the support.'

The British-born star went on to praise the ceremony as 'a room where being fully seen is not rare, but it is expected'.

Delroy and Michael were referenced by actress Regina Hall when she presented the first award of the night.

She said: 'I just want to take a moment to the two kings who are in this audience and just send you so much love for your class.'

The event was hosted by Deon Cole, who also took aim at the incident, and said: 'If there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette's, I advise you to tell them they can read the room tonight.'

John made headlines around the world when he shouted the N-word while black actors Michael and Delroy were on stage to present an award.

The 54-year-old later said he was 'deeply mortified' by his outburst, which he said had been involuntarily triggered by the neurological condition he has suffered from since the age of 12.

The BBC was forced to apologise for failing to edit out the racial slur in the TV coverage shown two hours later.

John is Britain's most high-profile sufferer of Tourette syndrome, which causes him to curse loudly, shout insults, and make sudden involuntary physical and vocal tics.

In 2019 he was awarded an MBE by the late Queen for his campaign work in trying to raise better awareness and understanding of the condition - and he famously shouted out 'F*** the Queen' at the ceremony, which gives the film its opening scene.

Michael and Delroy did not react on stage but BAFTAs host Alan Cumming later told the audience: '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.'

John's actions were not met with universal sympathy, however, and black US actor Jamie Foxx - star of Django Unchained - wrote on social media: 'Out of all the words you could've said Tourette's makes you say that. Nah he meant that s***. Unacceptable.'

Meanwhile, film-maker Jonte Richardson revealed he is stepping down as a Bafta judge over the academy's handling of the incident.

In a statement on LinkedIn, Jonte said: 'After considerable soul-searching, I feel compelled to withdraw from the Bafta emerging talent judging panel.'

A spokesperson for the BBC issued an apology and 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.'