Unfortunately, this build is becoming too easy. Micheal B. Jordan, we told you so. Now, in 2026 you are being outright identified by a racial slur at an award show. You and Delroy stood there all dressed up, wearing earrings and smiling and you both were called by a racial slur by the desensitized audience. Then, the desensitized people behind the BBC allowed it to air again. Our colleague warned you in his article, Spike Lee – What Happened? when he cautioned Spike Lee of the long term and short term consequences of normalizing the casual use of a racial slur. Kevin Maze said, “In the short term, it reinforces harmful stereotypes”. He also remarked that, “over time, this normalization can only serve to desensitize audiences to the historical trauma of an entire people group, as explained in [the movie], Bamboozled”. This topic was also addressed and examined in Dear Ryan Coogler, additionally in Sinners Movie Review | Time’s Up and again in A Very Serious Question.
Delroy Lindo
Delroy Lindo, to date we have not found any work of yours where you speak a racial slur. I hope that this fact remains true and that we are not later corrected. I must note however, that you too are responsible. As a cinematic statesman, you have the knowledge and experience to stand as both a guide and a mentor. Delroy, we are all responsible for what we know. With a career spanning more than fifty (50) years and a life spanning more than seventy (70) years, you understand the impact of racial epithets in film and other forms of media. With that said, you are not absolved of blame. With your body of work we were disappointed to see you join the cast of Sinners. You were part of a production where a racial slur was used. You too, sir are responsible for the assistance in its normalization.
Michael B. Jordan
We can imagine that this was not the experience that you wanted. We did not want this for you, nor do we want it for anyone. Being addressed with or presented with a racial epithet, a misogynistic trope, or any kind of slur is not acceptable. We know this all too well. That is why our colleagues take it so seriously. We don’t want this to happen to you or to anyone else. With that being said, I must remind you of your role in all of this. Michael, if you are advertising or promoting the use of a racial slur through your films, you are personally working to desensitize a global audience to its use. It’s really that simple. You are always saying it’s OK in the music you promote and in the characters you promote, so why now is it not OK?
A Question for You Both
Why didn’t either one of you address this insult? Was it that you didn’t know what to say? Perhaps you both were in such shock, that you couldn’t move/think? I don’t think so. I believe that neither one of you knew what to say because privately, each one of you may employ this language yourselves. We have seen Michael B. Jordan speak this same racial slur while acting in much of his recent work. We also know that Delroy Lindo was part of the same project where this was done–signaling as a cast member of script and dialogue compliance.
In the End, You Got What You Deserved
Let me put the violin away. Michael B. Jordan, you have been saying this same racial slur in your own projects–where you actually have creative control. You told the world that it’s OK to speak this way and you profited from it. Now, you want to act hurt because the audience you helped to desensitize addressed you with no sensitivity. Give me a break. Then you had nothing to say because you had nothing intelligent to say. You see, an intelligent person does not speak racial slurs, especially ones that are falsely associated with the group with whom he or she is affiliated. I know that’s a really low bar, but let’s start there for you. Once you get there, you will be able to see that no racial slurs are acceptable towards or from anyone!
Cry to the NAACP
Where’s your backbone? Why would you have so much to say at the 2026 NAACP awards but not at the 2026 BAFTA awards (where the incident actually occurred)? You two didn’t need time to think or “cool down”. You didn’t say anything then because of how you two have conditioned your minds. You see, if it were not acceptable in your lives, you would have said, “that is not acceptable” or you would have asserted yourselves in any intelligent way. You would not have stood at a podium in silence. When you squeeze an orange, you always get orange juice. You two got squeezed on February 22, 2026 and nothing came out. This type of action will continue as long as you perpetuate its normalcy and then silently accept it.
A Word to the Wise
How do you stand there in silent alignment
with the 15th century Portuguese slave traders’ verbal assignment
with the American slave traders’ linguistic confinement?
But wait…
Why do you choose in modern-day, with your identity to combine it?
Why do you rhyme it?
Let’s rewind it.
It was too loud to be quiet. But, why in private do you seem not to mind it? Why from the rapper that you promoted on the Black Panther soundtrack, do you seem not to mind it?
In the movie starred in by you, Creed 2, spoken by you, Creed to–your corner man; we can find it: (00:54:54) When you portrayed the twins: Smokestack, you spoke back to Smoke, Stack, with this word; we can find it: (00:12:38)
Think about what’s behind it.
Your marketing and support of this word combined with your subsequent offense at its use is a glaring misalignment. You should no longer support its definement. Your higher self, please keep in mind with.
In an era where representation and cultural awareness are more important than ever, it’s essential for an artist like yourself to remember that with great power comes great responsibility.
That’s what ithinkie.
Let us know what you think.
“People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become–and they pay for it, very simply by the lives they lead.” -Pierre Delacroix
Published: March 4, 2026
