Do No Harm.
That’s the phrase. Do no harm. And if harm is done, address it. Quickly and honestly
I really didn’t want to write this.
Seeing Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan swallow their pain, anger, and hurt the moment they heard the N-word shouted while they were on the stage hurt me.
And I needed a moment to sit with it. I also didn’t want to pile in and add to the noise.
I was hurt for them because I suspect I knew what they felt; I’ve been there before. Angry, demeaned, exposed, embarrassed, and unsafe. And in a moment that was supposed to be celebratory.
It’s a lonely place to be.
Then, as we all know, we discovered that the person who threw that verbal shot was John Davidson, the Scottish Tourette’s campaigner, who also has the syndrome.
The situation got more complex, and more harm was caused.
But not by the mortified Mr. Davidson, who expressed shame and reached out to the actors to apologize.
Nah, it was the BBC and BAFTA - ironically, the traditional media platforms - who dropped the ball, and caused more harm by:
Not editing the word out. The event was pre-recorded, so they could have done it. They edited other comments – but missed this. It begs the question - were there any people of color in the editing room?
The tepid apology — to the audience.
The lack of an apology to Delroy Lindo or Michael Jordan as soon as it happened. As of my writing this, we’ve earned that Warner Brothers, the studio behind the film, reached out to the BBC.
Oh, and by automations and AI. Google pushed a news alert out for an article using the FULL WORD. Nice.
So what has this got to do with this community? Well, THIS was the moment when smaller outlets, run by independent journalists, professionals amplifying their work, and influencers used their creator platforms to help us make sense of what was happening — in a meaningful way. Journalist Nadine White broke the news about the Google AI snafu, Eric Deggans broke down the impact on NPR, and nurse Cambria J Nwosu explained Mr. Davidson’s condition, how it works, and urged the need for nuanced conversation.
And they STILL had to choose their words carefully to navigate how to communicate effectively about this moment, because they knew that people would jump on the juiciest headline, rather than address the very real harm done to Mr. Lindo and Mr. Jordan.
In knowing who they served, they understood their assignment: use their platform to advocate, reveal, create space, and advance the conversation. And they did that using their lived experience; their expertise.
I’m so sorry that Michael B. Jordan had to go through this. I’m sorry that it happened at all.
Here’s my shout-out to a few content creators who helped me make sense of this incident:
Cambria J Nwosu, the nurse/content creator, on Coprolia, the involuntary tick that John Davidson has.
This is how a powerful ecosystem of unrelated content platforms can help us make sense of what happened in a fractured media ecosystem and a disconnected world.
Coming up: I invite you to join my editorial developpment cohort for journalists, creators and speakers, starting on March 16:
“Close Your Narrative Gap” is an intentionally sized three-week hybrid program where I’ll guide you to find your narrative direction, identify topics to create content around, and create your narrative blueprint, so you can talk to the world about what you do with the clarity, consistency, and confidence you’ve been looking for.
I’ve designed it so you can fit your lessons into your day and get the guidance you need to maintain your momentum.
All for $99.
Until next time,
Christabel