The white man in these photos is John Davidson. He’s a British man with Tourette’s Syndrome. He was diagnosed in his 20s. His life story served as the inspiration for the British film I Swear, which was up for several BAFTA awards. Shockingly, the lead of I Swear, Robert Aramayo, won the BAFTA for Best Actor, beating out actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and Michael B Jordan. Davidson attended the BAFTAs as an invited guest, given his association with I Swear. The BAFTA organizers made a special announcement, telling people that Davidson was in the audience and they might hear some outbursts from him, but explaining that those outbursts were Tourette’s-related. Well, things quickly went off the rails when Davidson shouted the n-word when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage. It does not sound like BAFTA host Alan Cumming said anything to MBJ or Delroy afterwards either.
BAFTA Film Awards host Alan Cumming thanked the audience for their understanding on Sunday night after a number of outbursts from Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson during the show. Davidson, who is the inspiration for BAFTA-nominated movie “I Swear,” was diagnosed with the syndrome at the age of 25. His symptoms, which first began when he was 12, include tics and uncontrollable outbursts, often involving cursing.
A number of outbursts could be heard throughout the BAFTA ceremony, including “shut the f–k up” being shouted during an introductory speech from BAFTA chair Sara Putt and “f–k you” when the directors of “Arco,” which won the BAFTA for best children’s and family film, accepted their award. During another outburst, the audience inside the BAFTAs heard Davidson shout the n-word when Michael B, Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for best visual effects to “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
“You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming told the audience, which included the Prince and Princess of Wales. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
Later on in the ceremony Cumming made a further statement, saying: “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 apologize if you are offended tonight.”
The outbursts could not be heard in the second half of the ceremony when Davidson appeared to have left the room. Variety understands he left of his own accord and was not asked to leave by BAFTA. A source told Variety earlier that Davidson was an “invited guest” and under no circumstances would he be asked to leave the ceremony. BAFTA did not respond to comment regarding whether the outbursts would be cut for the broadcast, which goes out with a two-hour delay on BBC One in the U.K. (In the U.S. and other international territories it goes out on BritBox International).
Before the ceremony began the floor manager also introduced Davidson to the audience, saying: “I’d like to welcome John Davidson MBE from one of our nominated films ‘I Swear’. John has Tourette’s Syndrome so please be aware you might hear some involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.”
“We apologize IF you are offended tonight??” Come on. While Davidson did not have intent to use a racist slur, that doesn’t negate the impact of his words. Davidson has the right to understanding and compassion… but Black people have the right to exist without having to endure racist slurs in public. Jordan and Lindo have the right to compassion and care as well, but it doesn’t sound like anything like that was offered to them after they were racially abused on stage, in front of their peers. Lindo and Jordan also shouldn’t be lectured about how THEY need to have compassion after Davidson shouted the n-word at them when they were on stage at the BAFTAs. The same awards show which has historically failed to be inclusive. The whole thing – especially with Cumming’s repeated pleas for compassion for the white man who said the n-word – is incredibly dehumanizing for Lindo and Jordan, like there’s an expectation that they should NOT be offended at being racially abused at an awards show.
Currently, there’s a huge, messy discourse online about ableism vs. racism or racist acts/impacts. I won’t wade into what Davidson should have done or whether the BAFTAs were wrong or right to invite him. What happened happened. What I find disturbing is how the BAFTA organization mishandled it, how Alan Cumming mishandled it as host/MC, and how little comfort or compassion was given to Jordan and Lindo within the room (and afterwards). The BBC didn’t even edit the racist slur from their broadcast. I’m including the video of that moment below, because this is the real-time impact of what happened, and the discourse that Jordan and Lindo simply needed to eat that racism is an appalling argument. Apparently, Davidson also shouted the n-word at Sinners’ production designer Hannah Beachler too (I’m including her tweets below as well).
Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the BAFTA Film Awards
Host Alan Cumming thanked the audience for their understanding after several outbursts throughout the event https://t.co/h4Ekla5keG pic.twitter.com/8l6JLh6hHG
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) February 22, 2026
I keep trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs, and I can't find the words. The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show.
— HannahBeachler (@HannahEBeachler) February 23, 2026
at the end of the show. Of course we were offended…but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened. I am not steal, this did not bounce off of me, but I exist above it. It can't take away from who I am as an artist.
— HannahBeachler (@HannahEBeachler) February 23, 2026
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- Guests attend the EE BAFTA Film Nominees Party at the National Gallery,Image: 1077220996, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Delroy Lindo, Credit line: Phil Lewis/Wenn/Avalon
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- Michael B. Jordan at the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK, 22 February 2026.,Image: 1077390737, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- Michael B. Jordan at the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK, 22 February 2026.,Image: 1077391336, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
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- Celebrities arrive at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards at Royal Festival Hall, London Featuring: Murray Gladstone, Dottie Achenbach, Chris Achenbach and John Davidson Where: London, United Kingdom When: 22 Feb 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Celebrities arrive at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards at Royal Festival Hall, London Featuring: John Davidson Where: London, United Kingdom When: 22 Feb 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
It was a huge failure of the BBC and the BAFTA to not only not edit it out, but also not to address it in a different manner and to apologize to the people who it was said to. Sorry if you were offended? Why yes I was offended by a racial slur being yelled at me at a work event.
Also, I can understand that this is not something that he neurologically can control. That does not mean that the impact is not the same of you yelling a slur at me in front of a global audience and a room full of my peers. I hope he is figuring out a way to reach out to them to explain and apologize for what had to be hurtful and humiliating even if it wasn’t intentional, but he really does need to release some sort of statement. He doesn’t need to explain his condition in the sense of apologizing for having it, but he does need to explain that he’s not okay with just yelling slurs.
Then finding out that he said it to another person associated with Sinners?!! If you want people not to make assumptions about your intentions you’re going to have to get ahead of this. Just assuming that people are going to be like it’s okay because of your disability isn’t going to work. I’m just tired of us always being expected to give grace and understanding to everyone else. And to always understand the nuance of things, but it never been granted to us.
THIS. Tourette’s does not cause racism, as others have said.
And the typical non-apology “Sorry IF you were offended…” remark suggests that they were not sorry at all. They know their audience, that’s for sure. Several probably sat there thinking “Damn straight! Who do these people think they are, thinking they can attend this event as equals among us?”
@Dee
The moment was not edited out of the BBC One broadcast, which was shown on a two-hour delay, and remained on BBC iPlayer on Monday morning before being removed.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”
Thanks for the update Dee. I am so disappointed that the BBC aired this slur.
And, I appreciate Celebitchy’s coverage of this matter!
I didn’t realize until now that there WERE other things edited out, just not this! The BBC managed to remove a comment about Palestine during someone’s acceptance speech, but they didn’t bother to take this out? Unreal
Thank you Dee(2) for expressing your thoughts so clearly and saying what I couldn’t put into words as clearly. Hannah Beachler made it clear that the so-called apology at the end of the ceremony was nothing a genuine apology, because to be honest anyone who wasn’t offended of such language (whether intentional or unintentional) is someone who condones such language and hate. No one should be okay with what was said and everyone in that room should have been offended. So the “apology” was no apology but a weak attempt to dismiss the situation and the pain and disrespect towards POC that occurred during the BAFTA. It was insulting and the fact that the BAFTA and BBC allowed it to air publicly without removing it in the year 2026, says something about them and their lack of inclusion and compassion of POC. I will not forget that the BBC is the channel that allowed the racist angry black woman skit of a black puppet that was supposed to be Meghan holding a knife attacking the white damsel in distress puppet that was supposed to be Kate. They are also the ones that allowed their radio DJ to post a racist stereotypical depiction of a monkey for a person of color to question not seeing the first biracial royal baby (Archie) leaving the hospital. Racism is so easily dismissed by these people and the fact that the racist royals were there must have made them feel even more comfortable amongst their peers. Real apologies should have been given at the time, regardless of the intentions by this man. I don’t know much about his disorder but the fact that the managed to say it to the black actors at different times during last nights show, at least shows that he understands the context of the word and used it towards them and has yet to apologize to them and others who were obviously offended by his language. The handling of all of this makes it even more racist, disrespectful and egregious.
JFC BBC’s reaction to this is so typical. Racism is the go-to.
They absolutely should have beeped it out in the broadcast.
I would say that the man with Tourette’s should not have been allowed to be in a place where he could potentially humiliate and belittle black attendees. Put this shoe on any other foot. Always black and POC people having to bear the brunt of other’s comfort. No. He should not have been there if there was a chance that this could happen.
I am so very sorry that this happened. I’m sorry that those fine actors heard that word no once but twice. I am sorry that the broadcast was replayed without cutting g that vile word.
I am so sorry that black people are still hearing / feeling that hateful garbage.
I am sorry if I don’t have the right words.
I am so sorry.
As a parent of a disabled child who tries to be educated about ableism, I fully support the movement by many advocates to achieve “rightful presence” for disabled people. In other words, people with disabilities should be fully incorporated in public life – not always shunted off into other spaces so everyone can feel comfortable, but embraced by one’s community. I give the BAFTAs credit for supporting John Davidson’s presence at the ceremony despite his coprolalia, and trying (however poorly) to explain to the people in the room so they could have empathy. However, I think the BBC did a great disservice in airing it. By all accounts, Mr. Davidson does not hold those views and it sounds like his outbursts are also painful to him; I can’t imagine he wanted them disseminated even further to hurt others. If the BBC thought they were “educating,” then then need to stop using disabled people as tools or props and treat them like people. If they wanted the sensationalism, they exploited a disabled person and knowingly put him at heightened risk of violence and abuse. I am horrified at the slur and that the actors had to hold their composure in front of a camera. I am also horrified at the hatred this has unleashed against a disabled person.
And also – for the record, the BAFTAs could have done a MUCH better job to create a REAL opportunity to include Mr. Davidson. “I’m sorry if you were offended” was absolutely inadequate to that moment. We don’t know what those conversations looked like – maybe Mr. Davidson didn’t want an advance announcement of his diagnosis, maybe he declined a prewritten apology for offensive statements, etc. But this is also a person who left of his own accord on what would have been, for any of us, one of the most memorable nights of our lives. I know social media is howling for him to prostrate himself sufficiently but I am wary of how the media is using this at everyone’s expense.
Beana I agree and understand what you are saying regarding disabilities and those suffering with them. I understand Tourette’s is a completely uncontrollable disease that caused him to say such horrible things towards people of color at different moments during last nights BAFTA show, but I also know that as a parent and adult, I know that even when I or my children do something unintentional towards others, I expect myself and my children to do the right thing of apologizing to those who were unintentionally hurt and affected by our words or actions. To me, it is his silence when this happened and since this happened that makes this even harder for some people to understand. We all have unintentionally done or said things that we might not have meant to do, but it is how we respond or react to it that says something about ourselves and what we feel towards those we might have hurt. So in my view, I can sympathize with him and his disorder but his silence thus far makes it difficult for me to believe that he doesn’t hold those views personally. After all, having a disability doesn’t make anyone incapable of being a racist. So until he, the BAFTA and BBC give their own personal apologies to the ones this was directed towards directly or indirectly, I will take their lack of apology as a sign of what they condone and believe.
💯% sympathetically and supportively agree with everything you’ve written.
Thank you, Beana, for writing so sensitively on this matter. I agree with you for the most part. However, past experiences and observations make me pause at this statement:
“Mr. Davidson does not hold those views…” Who is to say?
By many accounts which I read last night and over the years before, Tourette’s does not cause racism. Disabilities do not cause people to say and do racist things. If anything, disabilities tend to highlight or reveal what was already there. The man didn’t shout that word at white people, did he?
Britain is a country which is filled with people who are very quick to jump in and make excuses for the worst and most deplorable tendencies of white people, with never a thought or care for the effect such actions have on their victims, chiefly black people. The gaslighting is off the scale there. No wonder Black people are over-represented among mental health sufferers in the country. Their entire lives are one long, painful journey of being told to ignore the realities of their lived experiences.
This is bad for BAFTA, but also truly bad for the UK as a whole. But not surprising.
Sorry Tourette’s does not cause racism.
From my (still limited) understanding, coprolalia is NOT about saying things you secretly believe but wouldn’t say. (It’s not like drunken truth-telling.) It’s more about knowing “the worst thing someone could possibly say in this moment” and then the brain says it. For example, when Mr. Davidson got an MBE from the Queen, he shouted, “F—the Queen!” and when he went through security he yelled that he had a bomb. Neither represented how he really felt; his brain just produced the worst thing he could possibly say. By all accounts, people with coprolalia become quite anxious about their outbursts, which then makes them MORE likely to think the “bad thing.”
I plan to watch the excellent films made about him to understand this even more.
My limited understanding is that the brain fixates on the most taboo thing to say.
Millie 328, that is exactly right. Years ago John Davidson met the late QE2, and yelled ‘fuck the queen’ to her face.
The U.K. has racists and it has systemic racism. Unfortunately everywhere does and I see no evidence that the U.K. is an outlier. That’s not to be complacent. The ghastly Farage and his crew of inadequate ghouls has far too many supporters. But the U.K. government isn’t chock a block with white nationalists as the US government is. Its leader Keir Starmer has gone too far towards trying to placate the right by uttering faint echoes of their rhetoric, which I hate. But he is not trump, with all the overt unashamed white supremacism that he encourages. I do think the BBC could have handled this much better, one of a number of missteps that hearten those on the right who hate it. Get your act together BBC.
I agree with all of this. I watched an extremely interesting documentary on Tourette’s syndrome, and it sounds horrific.
People with Tourette’s were explaining that in overwhelming situations they often blurt out the most specifically offensive comments to people/places they were encountering.
They should have edited out.
I read up a little on racist comments by someone with Tourette’s when this news popped up and discovered it’s called ‘Coprolalia.’ As the day dragged on, it looked like BBC finally got around to apologizing for not editing out the racial slurs. Mr. Davidson also apologized, and said he left the ceremony early as he was aware of the distress his involuntary tics were causing.
My question re: Coprolalia is why didn’t we hear “Honky” or “Peckerwood” or “Whitey” yelled at white people? Maybe those terms are more specific to USA? Don’t Brits have nasty terms for “whiteys” and why didn’t we hear racist slurs for white people – is that just completely uncommon in UK?
S/ old white woman
The BBC keeping it in the broadcast was a CHOICE. They edited out the pro Palestine comment but not this?
“They should have edited out.”
“The BBC keeping it in the broadcast was a CHOICE.”
Hard agree.
So no one gave an apology to Jordan, London, or Beachler?
The BAFTA President bored with racism so ..
The racist BAFTA president and his wife aren’t THAT bored with racism, are they? The only difference between this guy’s outburst and KKKate’s concern about dark skinned babies in the family is that this guy did it involuntarily. What’s her excuse? Where’s her apology? They are very much a racist family.
In a weird way it’s almost fitting that this happened on WanK’s first trip back to the BAFTA in several years.
This is a generous, insightful, and educated comment. I feel for all parties involved — except for the BAFTA Administration, who boldly shirked their responsibilities in preparing for, responding to, and especially protecting those were known to be vulnerable.
Why didn’t the bbc edit it out? Unbelievable. They’ll edit out a royal picking their nose during a ceremony but they can’t edit this out? GTFOH.
They edited out a commemt on Palestine but left this in?!
Imo the bbc and Bafta failed everyone involved.
On behalf of my country, I am deeply, deeply sorry and ashamed that this happened
My thoughts are especially with Mr Delroy Lindo and Mr Michael B Jordan who had to face a hall full of their peers as it was said — and somehow still carried on with class and dignity
My apologies also to those who watched the broadcast or any of the viral clips and had to hear that. I am so sorry
Tourette’s is exactly as described above. The most horrifying and inappropriate thing your brain can think to say in that moment, specifically the most horrifying to you. Its much worse under stress.
That said. This situation was handled terribly by everyone in charge at the BAFTAS and the BBC.
A much more comprehensive announcement regarding the condition was necessary at the very beginning of the night.
The producers should have worked with him to craft a statement to prepare his fellow attendees and those presenting.
A statement regarding the reality of Tourette’s would have gone a long way to both preemptively explain his tics and also to educate a much wider audience.
As for the BBC and the BAFTAS – the fact that they didn’t edit it out is disgusting. The apology given was pathetic and a non apology- placing victims experiences as their problem, and basically saying they weren’t being understanding enough of a disability.
Both this gentleman and the victims of racial abuse were let down. The BBC seemed to be really wallowing in its feeling of generosity and magnanimity for allowing an individual with Tourette’s to attend, without caring to understand and educate others on his disorder or to address the impact of his tics on those who were targeted.
This whole thing sucks. And the fact that the BBC didnt prepar
MTE— everyone handled this terribly *except* the two men it was shouted at; they showed grace and professionalism. The BBC continues to disappoint.
Absolutely agree. I meant to place the blame on the officials in charge at the BBC and VAFTAS. And possibly on the gentleman with Tourette’s. Not for the initial outburst, but the fact that he then stayed in place and had two more racial slur tics.
@Beana – such a great comment. Very well said. The fault lies entirely with the BBC here.
Thank you! ♥️ I’m starting to ask, “who benefits here?” It’s not Mr. Davidson. It’s not any of the brilliant actors who had to hear those words. It’s the BBC who platformed this and turned it into a battle for clicks.
I think the bigger problem here is that the BBC and BAFTA had no problems airing the N word but, edited a black person’s acceptance speech so that we didn’t hear them say “Free Palestine” Make that make sense!
… the BAFTA president himself is racist who said that Sinners was ‘a bit dark’ and doesnt see a problem? Someone on twitter said he giggled?
William is the president yeah? So the BBC/BAFTAS being “very much not racist” fits then.
Mr. “very much not a racist family” needs to do a whole lot better.
If Davidson had yelled out, “Free Palestine” would the BBC have edited that out?
@sure – I’ll wager that they would have. I would also wager they would have bleeped if Davidson had shouted out the F word to Alan Cummins. Yet, for some reason (known only to themselves) the BBC thought it was acceptable to allow the N word to slip through their censors. I’m furious.
The BBC said s who allowed a racist skit of Meghan as a black puppet holding a knife attacking a fragile white Kate puppet to push the racists trope of an angry black woman. They are also the ones who allowed their DJ to post the image comparing newborn Archie as a chimpanzee. The BBC allowed this to air because it aligns with their beliefs that people of color don’t deserve the same respect that white people do.
I hope everyone Black just stays away from this show next year. The people in the audience tittering were gross. I can’t imagine how the Sinners and other Black people actors felt at that moment.
Not just that but white Hollywood needs to swerve this event in the future as well.
My thoughts as well. Is the n-word not considered a slur in England? Unless it offends the audience of Can’t and Won’t? What garbage.
I completely agree.
They would have edited out even the slightest whisper of a comment about Andrew. They warned people not to mention it!
I wonder if they warned Davidson not to mention Andrew? Given how commenters have described his medical condition, I’d have thought that that would’ve made it more likely to provoke a colourful comment about A. Did Davidson “voluntarily” leave the event before W appeared on stage?
BBC edited out a Palestine comment but left this in. Disgusting.
A non apology from the BAFTA but also non from the person who yelled the slur.
But I also noticed William saying he thought Sinners was ‘a bit dark’.
So when I taught my 4 yr old (now 27) that it doesn’t matter if you bumped into someone accidentally, you still apologize, I was wrong? No, I wasn’t. It’s called common courtesy.
You hurt someone, on purpose or not, you apologize directly, to that person, with no conditions.
He has a disability, but in this specific situation, still has a responsibility for the accidental words that caused great pain to other people.
And BAFTA and Alan Cummings, the way they acted like people directly yelled at should just be expected to, I don’t know, not complain? Not be hurt? Everyone deserves the same compassion and respect.
Bumblebee, my thoughts exactly. I was raised and have raised my children that regardless of the intent, if you do something that offends or hurts someone, be respectful enough to apologize to them at the moment or as soon as possible. To me, I can have compassion for anyone, especially those with disabilities, but to not do the bare minimum of apologizing for his unintentional actions towards Jordan, Delroy, Beachler and the others in attendance and watching, makes it difficult for me to just dismiss his part in this to just him having Tourette’s. It’s not as if he isn’t capable of putting out a heartfelt apology now or immediately after, so him not doing it is a choice, even if what came out of his mouth at the time wasn’t by choice.
It’s reprehensible that the BBC didn’t edit the moment out of their broadcast despite apparently showing they had the means to do so in other moments; it stinks of allowing drama and controversy for clicks, all at the expense of three innocent men. It would have been such a meagre measure that would have allowed all three men a little more dignity in the situation. Deeply shameful of the BBC.
I take the side of feeling for all three men: Davidson for the humiliation and the inevitable backlash against the film and people with his condition, and Jordan and Lindo for being involved at all. Hopefully with space they’ve been able to contextualise the moment as being purely about Davidson’s condition rather than themselves and their (rightful) positions on that stage, but a better apology from BAFTA would have helped.
Davidson hasnt apologised so am not taking his side
I agree.
Understandable, but I personally am giving him leeway because it’s still early and for all we know he has chosen to reach out privately and personally before making a public statement. If the situation hasn’t changed in a week or so then my opinion would change.
My other consideration is that people have reported his other notable moments include saying “fuck the queen” to the queen and “I’ve got a bomb” while seeing security members, so his particular form of tourettes seems particularly difficult and offensive despite his actual intentions. So while my sympathies are mostly with MBJ and Delroy, I do have some real compassion to what Davidson lives with and the position he’s now in.
@Inge the non apology from him is quite telling. And hearing from Black disabled people and Black people with Tourette’s was very enlightening to how this was a racial form of violence and they are being very vocal in not liking how David’s actions are being handled and coddled. Plus, I haven’t personally verified this but word was going around that it was said more than once. Only used racial slurs directed to Black people on 3 separate occasions. It is very anti-Black behavior, and there is a lot of racism in the white disabled community that does not get addressed or checked.
They also reportedly were on the alert for any references to Prince Andrew to edit them out. But the N word was fine.
BAFTA and the BBC just handled the situation badly. The least the BBC could have done was edit out the slur. It just goes to show that Black people are always the last to get duty of care.
This was a shocking moment in live television. By the way, the BAFTAs open ceremony message regarding this man was to point out possible involuntary noises and movements, I guess racial slurs got lost in the message.
He has an illness, yes, but that does not invalidate the fact he directed a slur THREE TIMES and three different people. He should apologise!
I’m quite sure this is not the first time Mr. Davidson has erupted with the n word. So this horrendous incident was probably quite predictable. Yet, someone chose to invite him knowing that he not only swears uncontrollably but shouts racial slurs uncontrollably. What could possibly go wrong? I support the rights of disabled people to appear in public and at public events. But Mr. Davidson appears to have a racism problem along with a disability. That changes the game considerably.
This is where I am: it really doesn’t seem like the first time. And it happened on 2 occasions to multiple people that evening. To absolve Davidson of responsibility here seems wild, and its unsurprising if deeply saddening that the BBC chose adding insult to injury to protect the feelings of a white man who uses the n word
The core of tourette syndrome in this form ist, that people uncontrollably shout the most offensive word their brain knows. Meaning, that if he shouts the n-word, it ist the most offensive word he knows.
If a person with tourette could control this, they would not have this disability.
And judging Mr. Davidson for this ans calling him raisist is plain ableism.
This incident never should have happened. People should not be put in a position where they feel they must choose between ableism and racism. It’s racist to minimize the hurt these Black people experienced being publicly humiliated like this. Whoever invited Mr. Davidson or Davidson himself should have made arrangements to make sure nothing like this happened at this very high profile event.
What brassy rebel said! I do not have to sit there while someone shouts slurs at me and get told to get over it cause they have a disability. It’s offensive to say that word which means outright hatred to Black people is someone hey you need to get over it.
Lara (The other) I am judging Mr. Davidson not for his disability but for his inability to apologize for those he hurt at the moment and since the awards show. He may have had no control over the words he said towards three different black people, but him not apologizing at the time or since last nights show, is definitely a choice that he has control over. Tourette’s is uncontrollable but his ability to control how he addresses those his words affected isn’t uncontrollable. Although most of us don’t understand Tourette’s entirely, we do at least know that those suffering from it are still capable of taking accountability for what they have said and he has yet to do that. There lies the problem. He hasn’t expressed how sorry he is for what he said and how it must have hurt those that heard it. I walk in front of someone in the grocery aisle and do the bare minimum of apologizing. It seems that an apology for unintentionally using such language shouldn’t be dismissed when a simply “I’m sorry for using such unacceptable language” still hasn’t happened.
The very fact the word is in his verbal lexicon to pull as a slur directed towards to Black individuals is very much so racist as the most and anti-Black at the least. It’s appalling how white people with disabilities are given grace and sympathy and even understanding when they cause harm, while Black people with disabilities are often maligned or murdered or not given any courtesy for just existing.
I stand by my opinion that, whether a racist or not, Davidson should apologise immediately to every person he called the N word.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to have his illness, nor can I imagine what the black experience is like, however I know that Davidson’s illness cannot excuse the harm and hurt he caused to at leat 4 people directly, and to thousands others who watched the broadcast and witnessed blatant racism.
We should all apologise when we cause harm even if not intended.
This is BS I am sorry. We would have thrown hands so he had a reason to be saying the N word at that point.
Sadly, it tracks that a country that allows public commentary comparing a biracial newborn to a chimp would also be ok airing the n word on TV.
Yep.
That’s the first thing that crossed my mind. For a country that is so deferential to their royalty, they had no such deference for the newborn biracial prince.
So no one has reached out to Micael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo yet, but the BBC removed the broadcast from their iPlayer, where things like this can usually be watched for a certain time afterwards.
Alan Cummings, whose reaction was beyond the pale, hasn’t said anything to anyone so far. His generic comment was a slap in the face of everyone in the audience who’s not lili-white.
Nor has John Davidson — or someone who represents him.
And now the ball is in the BAFTA’s court. Their leadership should have come up with a convincing, well thought out apology before the show ended.
But at least their president let people know years ago that he’s bored by racism.
@NANEA
They might issue an apology and then take it back later. (the same as the BM did with Doria Ragland)
This was handled shamefully all around. The BBC should have consulted experts to find out how to talk to the audience about someone with this disability, yes, BUT ALSO should have talked to the experts about how to prevent/handle the yelling of slurs when you have an audience and presenters from all races and ethnicities.
The people against whom slurs were yelled should not have to simply eat it. And the “apology” from BBC was insufficient and insincere. Then the BBC doubled down by leaving the slurs in fo the broadcast.
What a bunch of idiots running the show. Was no one with sense available to make decisions? Or did all of them think the slurs were a non-issue?
I am so hurt for Jordan, Lindo and Bleacher. I hope they receive tons of love and support today.
I personally have no patience for the discourse that is trying to give him “compassion”. If you have a disease that compels you to yell out hate speech then yes, you need to not be in public until it’s being comprehensively treated.
Campaigning for visibility and presence of the disabled should never include excusing slurs. He needs either a different course of treatment or to stay home, and I don’t feel guilty saying this. And it being aired also says a lot.
Racism is racism whether you have a “doctor’s excuse” for it or not.
💯this ☝️.
@Crystal 💯 👍🏾
@Crystal 💯 and Amen! The US has a racist r@pist Prez and white nationalism & racism are increasingly visible every day. But these emboldened racists are quickly FAFO. I can’t imagine traveling to another country’s award show and being subjected to it with no recourse except being given no real apologies, and TOLD to have compassion for the disabled man. So I have zero tolerance and zero patience for racism in all forms, esp since there’s been no apology from Mr. Davidson, who directed his hate speech to Black people 3 TIMES. As for the BAFTAs bs, no surprise there. These awards shows are desperate for clicks and views, and apparently, in the era of SM, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Yes to your points, it’s rooted in the thought that white people deserve or are owed comfort while racialized people must endure.
There is no treatment. He has had it for decades. He will have it until he dies.
Treatment includes treatment for chronic conditions not just recuperative. Treatment includes behavioral therapy and medications. And also instilling accountability in this man’s case.
I have a relative who has Tourette’s and he will say the most offensive things in high-pressure situations, like sexist insults, and no he doesn’t mean it. It is BECAUSE he would never, ever say this that his brain forces him to. It truly has nothing to do with his own beliefs. People don’t ever believe it. Socially, It’s an absolutely devastating disability. I don’t disagree that the organizers should have handled it differently, but I imagine Mr. Davidson is horrified and will surely apologize at least in private.
People need to grasp that belief and intent don’t lessen actions. “He didn’t mean it!” Maybe I don’t care and neither did the two men who were on the end of this humiliation.
At a certain point this type of explanation just is insufficient. The rest of the world is entitled to live in spaces without this kind of crap. His apology should be public (the way his actions were) and in all caps. It says everything that there is no accountability.
Most of us with OCD struggle with intrusive thoughts, as I definitely have. I can understand the thought but that does not mean this occurrence and the response to it is acceptable.
Im sorry for anyone with that condition. But like a poster said above–you don’t get a doctor’s note that excuses you from racism. Or more specifically, you don’t get a doctor’s note that prevents other people from feeling the effects of whatever it is you shout.
His condition was a known reality that should have been accounted for. If that man can’t be in a room without shouting hurtful things at people, then quite frankly, he shouldn’t be in a room with people he can hurt. he could have participated from a green room.
Other people cannot be considered collateral damage for any one person’s condition. It’s so telling that no one at the BBC or at BAFTA involved with this production considered the effect of this mans outbursts on the people who had to hear them. I have zero confidence in the British establishment’s ability to consider any point of view other than the point of view of wealthy white upper class people. In the UK, the upper class white people are the only people worthy of having a point of view worth considering at all, it seems.
Had they invited him but segregated him in a green room, there, no doubt, would have been a discrimination complaint and lawsuit filed. I don’t know the answer, but he should not have been in a position to shout racial slurs or insults at participants. And if he understands his own condition which he presumably does, it’s baffling that he didn’t opt out.
@Ianne
he literally has a doctor’s note that says “he will say the most taboo thing”. But I guess you are for segregating the disabled people? Gotcha.
Interesting word choice. Kind of looking like he and the BBC themselves support segregation of a different kind at this point.
Brassy Rebel – I also would like to know why he himself seemingly took no precautions against this. It’s one thing if you’re at the grocery store but at this awards show??
Look, he came, and they didn’t care a crap about other people. It was known he says this word and no one with a brain said hey we should have measures for this. And one of those could have been apologizing and asking if people in the audience wanted to leave to go somewhere else so then he could have been shouting that all night long. The anger is about responses in the moment which were this is not a big deal and that they didn’t care about how Delroy and Michael B. Jordan felt. Black people again are not being centered on something that they should be
@hello,
not segregating people. Making sure that people with disabilities that can HURT OTHER PEOPLE CANT HURT THEM. Is that so difficult to understand? The blame isn’t on the man with the disability. The blame is on the organization for not managing the space more effectively so that no one else would come to harm. It’s not my job to figure out what that looks like. It is the job of BAFTA and the BBC. Black people are not accecptable collateral damage to his disability. Neither are any other group of people. We can draw lines. If his compulsion were to yell out inappropriate things toward children, and children would have been present, I would imagine the BAFTA organizers would have accounted for that (or maybe they would only do so for certain children, who knows). If he were to yell out homophobic slurs with a gay host, that probably would have been managed better.
It’s not about the Tourettes. It’s about the response of the cultural establishment.
Yes, when I get called a “c-nt” or worse, I still feel it even if I know he doesn’t mean it. This is why my relative doesn’t leave his house anymore.
What a poor and racist way to prepare and address this unfortunate situation! BBC and BAFTA are 100% at fault. I bet they would’ve edited out the comment if Davidson shouted ‘Pedophile’ when William was on stage. I am shocked that they invited him to the event with so little care for him, the presenters and the audience. With this type of Tourette’s, coprolalia, the n-word is somewhat common, I’ve heard of other instances where it has been used by sufferers. This and other racial epithets should have been anticipated and maybe he could’ve been ushered to a safe space. It should’ve been discussed wi the him beforehand how to proceed. BAFTA should’ve reacted immediately with a more sincere apology to the audience and presenters. Now Davidson has been put in a position to receive negativity and even threats – what the film about him was trying to convey – because BAFTA showed so little forethought and care. And Alan Cumming could’ve easily been a target-I wonder if he would’ve been so casual in his apology if that had happened. What a shitshow.
Absolutely shocking decision by the BBC. Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan will now be haunted and followed by this clip no matter what further accolades and achievements they go on to attain. The BBC is completely and utterly infuriating in their disregard for them. And the racists now have an BBC broadcast, HD clip to use in memes and trolling. The shame.
I am putting 99% of the blame on this on the BBC/BAFTAs.
I worked in disability accomodations. While I don’t know the specific best practices for someone with this condition for an event like this, I promise a Tourettes organization knows, and would have gladly worked with them to help them prepare. What happened could have been avoided or mitigated with actual planning and a tiny bit of foresight.
To all the people who demand that Mr. Davidson perform a public apology to sufficiently reassure them that he is completely devoid of racism and thereby deserving of compassion and inclusion:
I am so grateful that you have never personally experienced, or had a loved one experience, a neurological or psychiatric condition that allows you to understand offensive language but does not give you the ability to inhibit your body from saying them.
I am truly happy that you have never experienced being treated as less than human, and not deserving of joyful experiences, because your brain is not the same as everyone else’s.
I celebrate that you have never been expected to routinely apologize for and explain the thing that makes you marginalized.
I am just asking you to try to imagine what that would be like, and to understand that sometimes “justice” requires a deeper understanding.
What makes you think all of us calling for this apology haven’t experienced any of that?
Your comment is just being maudlin for the sake of it. If you hurt someone whether intentional or not an apology is always called for. Especially in this setting and I think you know exactly why. It needs to come from both him and the network.
I’m truly happy for you that nobody has ever hurled a racial slur at you, an assumption I think is perfectly fair given how you are speaking about this (talking about disability being marginalized but not Black people suffering the same?)
@Beana I get that this may hit close to home because of your child, but this is just so patronizing. You’re basically asking for black people to be okay with being racially abused in public because of someone’s disability. He doesn’t have to prostrate himself, no one is saying that he needs to apologize for existing, or at least I’m not. But being dismissive of the real hurt, humiliation, and embarrassment that a black person would feel standing on the stage and hearing that is just not the way to go.
You’re explaining to a marginalized group why they should be okay with their marginalization being prioritized as being less important than someone else’s. I can sympathize with how difficult it must be to navigate life when your brain is actively working against you. That does not mean that everyone else just has to take it. I hope that if you replace your frustration with the ableism that this man is experiencing, with the frustration of racism that people are explaining you can see why they feel that way.
This. I do not Mr. Davidson is racist and I do believe his tics flared up, causing his outburst, but implying that MBJ and Delroy Lindo should just have to put up with it is unacceptable to me. Part of existing in society just like everyone includes apologizing if harm is inflicted, regardless of intent.
OP’s comment brought something I have been thinking about a lot: When did we as a society decide we do not have to uphold the social contract anymore? This question is NOT directed at or about Mr. Davidson, who I believed removed himself, but
I’m wondering when it became the norm for people to bring their screaming, upset children into non children friendly places, people who talk/use their phones during movies, people who being their pet dogs EVERYWHERE, including places they are not allowed, such as the grocery store and everyone just has to deal with it? Since when do we just get inconvenience and/or harm others/the general public and everyone just has to deal with it?
Anyways, I’d like to think Mr. Davidson will be apologizing privately, the BBC owes EVERYONE a very public apology for embarrassing everyone by not editing that moment out when they’ve been able to for other moments in the same show.
I completely agree…so long as that understanding doesn’t come at the expense of marginalized people who are asked over and over again to extend grace to others when grace is never, ever extended to them.
Agree with what everyone but you said.
It’s not that we don’t have compassion and empathy for him. Or that our lives are perfect and have never ourselves struggled with neurological issues or have loved ones who have.
We are able to hold both – compassion and empathy for the man suffering with Tourette’s and the individuals who were racially abused.
He did not intend to hurt them. But he still did. He feels awful and they feel awful.
And the impact of his words and actions vastly outweigh his intentions.
Apologizing publicly while further explaining his disorder would really move the conversation forward and provide much deeper education and understanding to so many.
Lastly – both he and the individuals who were assaulted were failed by the BAFTAS. They should have had extended meetings with Tourette’s education and support organizations to make sure that he was supported as best as he could be. And they should have been prepared with contingency plans and apologies in case something like this took place.
They were entirely focused on having him fully integrated and that being the end goal – for everyone to just shut up and take whatever abuse he unwillingly hurled at them because he deserves to be there. And their feelings aren’t important.
He did deserve to be there. But while being fully supported to cut down on the possibility of tics and having alternative plans he could implement if he started down a tic spiral. The shame and embarrassment and anxiety of tics can and do cause more and more severe ones. He should have been offered multiple options to help him reset, to step out, to alleviate his anxiety, to stop the spreading spiraling panic that makes tics so much worse.
We basically saw a gentleman having a complete breakdown with no other options in place but to sit there and ride it out. And that was not ok.
Not for him. And absolutely not for the people being subjected to such horrific racial slurs.
Abject failure on the part of rhe BAFTAS to prepare for this man’s attendance, to meet the moment and to keep other attendees safe.
this comment is spot on, no notes!
Nick Reiner has a disability. Should he be allowed to attend events like these to keep him from being “sidelined”? He may kill someone, but he won’t mean it.
And don’t tell me words aren’t violence. The N word is violence like few others.
I mean. That’s vastly different. And I don’t think psychopathy is a disability. But society and the structures in society have a responsibility to work for the safety of everyone involved. Supports for individuals with Tourette’s and boundaries and planned next steps to protect people who might be subjected to abuse or harm. That’s it. The responsibility to one group doesn’t negate the responsibility to the other.
Exactly. A whole lot of people with no understanding of the condition deciding what it means and the sufferer’s intentions behind it.
It was a horrible situation, Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were treated awfully and the whole thing was poorly managed by BAFTA but demonising someone due to a lack if understanding is not the vibe.
Above all, MBJ and Delroy Lindo are owed a public apology for what had to be a very embarrassing moment, especially from the broadcasters who chose to not edit out that moment when they had no problem editing out someone say ‘Free Palestine’. That was a choice and served no purpose outside of driving clicks and publicly embarrassing 3 attendees.
I don’t know what plan Mr. Davidson and his team had in place in the event something like this happened or if they came up with a plan with BAFTA but if there was a plan, it was lackluster to say the least. He has a right to be there amongst his peers just like everyone else but MBJ and Delroy Lindo should not have to just take very public racial abuse and they certainly deserved more in the moment than that lackluster statement by the host.
Well said!
What matters here is that the decision makers at BAFTA and BBC (I believe they are the broadcasters) who let the slur air need to be named and fired.
I’m only listening to the opinions of Black people with Tourette’s on what could have been done to proactively address this situation.
The impact on Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, and the Black community in general, needs to be centred. Black people who achieve great things constantly have their moments sullied by bullshit, celebration is often accompanied by new trauma, slights or harm.
Yes the man with Tourette’s should apologize, don’t infantilize him. Intent versus impact and disability don’t mean you’re absolved of the responsibility to apologize. An apology isn’t a humiliation, it’s an admission that harm occurred and that the recipients deserve empathy and repair.
I understand that he has no control over blurting out. The fact that he said that word at the sight of two black people tells me that he think that often. Nah, this was handled poorly and Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan deserve more than that crappy non apology.
Some have mentioned this above, but more seem to not understand.
I have a personal relationship with a man with Tourette’s and Coprolalia. Any slur, or inappropriate outburst, is NOT because he believes it. It is more the opposite. He knows what the worse thing to do or say is, and his brain obsesses on it, and how bad it is, and then makes him blurt things out. It has been likened to almost a sneeze or bad cough. So I don’t want to hear anyone saying he must have really felt this way, blah, blah. This is not Mel Gibson on a drunken rant. And you can have OCD, etc., but they don’t come even close, so please don’t weigh in on this one like you know what you’re talking about. Believe me, this condition has been devastating for my friend, and his family, and you would not believe the lengths they have to over the years to curb it.
Mr. Davidson left on his own accord when he knew it was going off the rails, and may have already apologized privately for all we know. Regarding BAFTA and BBC, different issue. They should have handled it better without a doubt,
Regardless of his personal feelings, Mr. Davidson caused harm on an international stage to two people simply doing their jobs, as well as Ms. Beachler and the others he used the racial slur against. I hope he has apologized. As other posters have said, even when you unintentionally cause harm (and it can be because of a disease or a host of other reasons), you should try to make things right.
What I question is why that word would even be in Mr. Davidson’s lexicon. Regardless, the BAFTAS and the BBC are at fault for completely bungling their response to this.
BAFTA and Alan Cumming, pardon my anglo saxonism, fuck that shit.
What makes the situation worse is that the BBC edited out a part of a speech in which the winner said “Free Palestine”. Like, what are they playing at there ? Did they think that it was some educational moment at the expense of some people receiving the racist abuse ?
What I find telling is that Davidson himself hasn’t apologized. And as for what Cumming said…disappointed but not surprised. Black folks are always asked to eat their feelings and accept dehumanization for EVERYONE ELSE’S comfort.
I agree. And until he shows us who he is, he doesn’t deserve the grace of people putting emotions of regret and apology into him.
He did not grasp that that the use of a racial slur required immediate action on his part to make sure it did not happen again. And that it also required an immediate and heartfelt – written – apology.
He is a white British man. Who has an immensely challenging and deeply painful disability. He also used the slur at least 3 times at the event.
That implies he may not view the use of a racial slur as different than calling someone an a$$hole, for example.
It also implies that he was more focused on staying where he was at the event than he was on mitigating the pain he was causing to the people around him. He wasn’t focused on his responsibility to the people around him.
Whether his decision to stay in his seat was fueled by panic and anxiety, if he was completely melting down and unable to think clearly remains to be seen.
Ideally – he should have looked for alternative ways he could watch, different accommodations while not subjecting other people to the harm of his racially charged tics. The BAFTAS should have had multiple options prearranged. They failed.
And honestly.
He might have been horrified that he shouted the word, that he used the word in front of people.
But we cannot say that he was horrified to have used the slur itself or if he understands how deeply dehumanizing and painful such language is. We dont know if he would care even if told.
Because he hasn’t apologized. He hasn’t addressed it at all. We know nothing about how he actually feels.
We don’t know if he is only embarrassed for himself or if he understands the real weight of what happened.
And considering that he used the slur at least 3 times before allegedly leaving of his own accord – that implies that he was not attempting to protect the people around him.
He did not machine gun fire that slur in the space of 5 seconds and then up and leave immediately. He spoke the slur multiple times over a lengthy period of time.
A complete shit show, from beginning to end. Nothing was managed. Nothing was proactive. It was all – oh. Well. Maybe we should say something? I don’t know. Was anyone even offended?
Ugh!
Desperate to protect Will and Kaye from any blushing…they let this horrific slur stay in the broadcast while combing for any eye rolls toward royalty …
And of course no one would ever say the “A” word in front of them but this was ok…
What if this man had yelled Andrew and pedo?
There are times living in the UK that I’m struck by the compassion, decency, and resourcefulness of normal people, like the paramedics (all ladies) who scooped up my husband after he was in an accident on his motorcycle. Being a guy, he was trying to persuade them he was fine by joking and winking. Hilariously inappropriate, but the jokes were at his own expense and one of them very discreetly angled herself out of his eye line as she spoke to me at the admitting room in the A&E where I met them, to explain, in a low voice, that he was likely concussed and that I ought to monitor his memory of the accident in case it later failed, which happens hours after the impact. Then there were the three lady constables who helped him once recover his motorcycle after some kids had ripped out the charging cable & pushed it in into the woods near our house. They chased them off with torches. Anyhoo. The men here are allowed to be low-rent, boozy, offensive, red-faced, boorish, belligerent, yet oddly impotent, all at once. The women kick butt. FWIW this is a white man being given grace, where the rest of us — women and people of all colours — are simply seen as extra. And that is a huge problem.
The description of males does not match any of my male family, friends, colleagues or acquaintances. But hey, if JD Vance can come and lecture Europeans about free speech, and Marco Rubio can scold Europeans for not buying into the great replacement theory, I suppose nothing’s off the table.
This is precisely why I’ll never spend even one tourist dime on Salty Racist Isle. I find it too easy to believe that the UK is okay with anti-Black racism. The BBC quickly made sure the pro-Palestine comment was edited out, but blithely allowed the N-word to remain.
This informs me that I wouldn’t be welcomed as a Black tourist. Nobody can convince me that there is any welcome for who they would happily call a n-word.
America is definitely racist, but they would have edited out that slur because they know Americans would hold them to account. Personal racism is one thing here, but racism embraced and widely accepted by the system is another. What are Black folks to think…except that Britain is super comfortable with that particular mindset?
This is to reply to @Beverley, I hear you. 100%. My only suggestion — as a white American woman in the UK who does not have to deal with this sh*t — is that genuinely a huge component of the population is like, “oh, come off it, what’s the big deal??? It’s just a stupid joke, it’s just a rude remark.” …which is totally inadequate. They don’t have to be *racist* so much as apathetic. It’s almost like the whole country suffers from a form of Tourette’s Syndrome. I remember when Meghan & Harry left, Private Eye labelled her “a snowflake,” and I was just like, mate, you would not survive half of what this heroic woman has put up with and she’s come out of it with her head held high and her dignity intact. You would not.
With regards to the chap who has tourettes. Yes, it really is a horrible affliction. Yes, people can understand and sympathise It really does make you shout out the most inappropriate things….HOWEVER they could have been more supportive for all concerned by removing the chap with tourettes to one side.
He could also have shouted out an apology and made a heartfelt apology afterward.
He could also excuse himself to help manage the issue.
If Free Palestine had been shouted out, I’m betting that would have been censored
Completely understand how tourettes can present but also understand how on earth that feels to the guys on stage. The resolve they had was remarkable. Plus to each and every black person, both in the audience and at home having to hear it. PLUS, was this the only time? Did he do the same to other Black participants/recipients and if so how was /wasnt that ‘dealt’ with?
its one thing to understand him but please cast the same (minimally) or higher, understanding to the victims of that abhorrent slur.
Coprolalia is all about finding the most taboo thing to say, at any given moment. It’s a serious disability. But if I had it and I had to make a public appearance like this, I would take measures to prevent myself from being able to act on it. I would get medicated; I would get my jaws wired shut, if I had to.
And shame on the BBC and BAFTA for their very obvious racism.
Did he make any comments about A when he saw WanK?
I feel NO ONE or any organization has figured out how to protect two vulnerable groups of people. Like their minds short circuit and they can only protect one group at a time.
It’s like people with service animals who are legally not allowed to be denied entry anywhere and someone else who has animal allergies (which can be severe especially if they have asthma or other respiratory issues) which is protected by the ADA. People and organizations ALWAYS put the person with the service animal first and trample on the person with allergies when BOTH people should be protected.
“If you are offended” are the four worst words you can say after something like this.
I don’t fully understand Tourette’s, but BAFTA and the BBC have plenty of resources and should have done their homework. Cumming, too, because saying “if you are offended” was just pouring salt on the open wound.
According to The Guardian, BTW, the BBC also edited out “Alan Cumming’s comparison of the themes of Zootropolis 2 (‘Lies, corrupt leaders, poisoning and persecution of a race’) to contemporary America.” Appalling.
I find most of the conversation here almost pathetically ignorant about Tourette’s and coprolalia.
How about being sympathetic to the person with a horrendously stigmatizing condition instead of extremely powerful actors and directors?
Learn something instead of reflexively kneejerking to the n word? There was nothing racist about it to anyone who knows anything about Tourette’s. (By the way the majority of Tourette’s victims do NOT have coprolalia.)
It’s still racism. And stop trying to hint this is some kind of classist bourgeoisie-influenced discourse by the “extremely powerful actors and directors” remark. This man is not some working class hero just because you think people are “reflexively kneejerking to the N word” (the fact that you even wrote that is illuminating because we should all be reacting to it that way).
I will not be disregarding racial abuse being hurled publicly at 2 black actors just because they have successful careers in Hollywood, sorry. I do NOT Mr. Davidson is racist and I do NOT think this incident was intentional on the part of Mr. Davidson but regardless of intent, an apology is owed because harm was inflicted.
And I will ALWAYS have a knee jerk reaction to the n-word due to extremely violent origin and history.
Ah the old if you’re a rich black person racism doesn’t impact you trope. You guys are pulling out all the classics today. And how should Hannah Beachler feel after seeing this said to her wealthier and better known co-workers? Still shouldn’t care? She still needs to learn some empathy for just how hard this had to be for him? How do you tell someone not to ” reflexively react” to a racial slur being yelled at them at work?
At the BAFTA Film Awards, a white man with Tourette’s shouts the n-word when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo walked on stage.
Now, he was cussin’ all during the show but he didn’t hurl “wh*tey” or “cr*cker” or “h*nkey” or “of*y at all the white folks who took the stage earlier. No, he said the n-word. He said it at PRECISELY the moment he saw Black presence on that stage.
And within five minutes the conversation becomes about protecting his diagnosis, and showing compassion, and sorry “if” anybody was offended. The conversation wasn’t about the two Black men who were verbally assaulted by that word and the rest of us who were like WTF!
I need y’all to understand that Black folks are not confused about neurology. We absolutely know that Tourette’s is real. We know tics can be involuntary and that coprolalia exists. But don’t be playin’ in our faces and trying to convince us that Tourette’s manufactured the n-word.
Just stop.
The brain is a social and cultural organ. It cannot involuntarily access vocabulary that was never put there in the first damn place.
You don’t tic out advanced calculus. You don’t blurt out 18th century poetry. You don’t spontaneously produce words you’ve never absorbed.
So the real question isn’t “How did the tic fire?” It’s: how did the n-word get stored in his brain? How did the n-word become neurologically available to this man under stress?
You don’t spontaneously generate language your family, community, or culture never supplied. That word had to be learned. Heard. Circulated. Charged. Stored.
So when Black folks side-eye this moment, it’s not ignorance about how neuroscience works. We are literate in racism and pattern recognition. And we are experts in the social life of the n-word.
And let me just say also that disability does not override racial socialization. Disabled people are still raised in cultures. Disabled people still absorb bias.
Disabled people still know what words mean. Explaining the neurological release does not erase the racial architecture behind the word, and it is actually ableist to suggest that disabled people cannot take accountability for racial harm.
And it also is deeply manipulative to suggest that Black people must suspend their own traumatized nervous systems in order to prove we’re compassionate. It is ableist to center one neurological condition while pretending generations of racial trauma aren’t also wired into nervous systems.
That word is not “just profanity.” It is racial terror language! It was screamed during lynchings. It was carved into segregation.
It was used to justify violence. And now we’re just supposed to calmly file it under “medical incident” because a diagnosis was invoked?
Nah!
Two truths can exist: The tic may have been involuntary. And the harm was not imaginary. Stop gaslighting us. We can understand the brain and still question the culture that loaded it.
💯 this.
100% x a million and thank you!
@POTATOE 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Thank you!
Thank you.
He didn’t say those words likely because British people don’t use them! Be so for real. They also don’t have the same impact so likely his brain wasn’t obsessing over saying them in horror.
‘It’s: how did the n-word get stored in his brain? How did the n-word become neurologically available to this man under stress?
You don’t spontaneously generate language your family, community, or culture never supplied. That word had to be learned. Heard. Circulated. Charged. Stored.’
Brilliant! 👏
At this point, the purposeful choice to not edit the word out, when they had 2 hours to do so, feels intentional on the part of the BBC and the BAFTAs. It’s a convenient distraction of conversation. And it hurt everyone involved. They used to use Meghan for this. This time they used other Black actors and creatives. Please note that I’m focusing my anger on the British institutions that allowed this to happen. Andrew who? Bc we know anything said about him would have been edited out in a heartbeat. F-ck this shit.
I think this is awful. This was an awards show to honor the attendees achievements. Instead of being honored they were insulted. The reality is that the human condition consists of limitations for all of us. There isn’t any one of us that doesn’t have to deal with limitations at some point in their life. Too young, too old, mental health , physical health, etc. I worked as an RN in Behavioral Care for several years and I definitely understand and empathize with Mr. Davidson but I believe this situation should have been handled differently. The movie was based on Mr. Davidson but he wasn’t being honored for achievement in this movie. He could have participated in a different way. Perhaps a video of him speaking about Tourette’s could have been played. I would think he feels horrible about it. In this situation the group suffered and the individual suffered too. It was not honorable for anyone participating.
There are ways he could have been included that would have honored him and allowed the rest of the guests to be honored as well. This was a travesty. A preventable one at that. It’s an abject failure of leadership.
He came out with an apology that was terrible. And that’s all I got about intention versus impact.
Yeah I read Davidson’s statement and it’s exactly what Cumming said – “it didn’t mean anything even if you thought it did”. Not a single “I’m sorry for causing pain even though it was involuntary.”
So done with this nonsense. These people know exactly what they’re doing, too.
I don’t know why so many commenters seem to think disabled people can’t be racist, if it comes right down to it, honestly.
That’s the issue. Often I found that non-POC people go overboard the over way to counter crap that has happened in the past. That apology was terrible and even disability advocates said so. And there are tons of Black people with Tourette’s that are side eyeing this whole thing and being ignored about their comments on this. Calling a Black person the N word is not just a racial slur. It makes your body hot, your emotions go back and forth, you feel terror in that moment. The fact the audience tittered. I saw MBJ’s face and I died for him. He was feeling all of that in seconds and had to go on. Delroy too. I am sick of the apologists on this comment thread. Thank you for many of you going to head to head with them today.
Seeing a lot of people in here saying Mr. Davidson shouldn’t go out in public. Y’all understand that people with his disorder used to be locked up in sanitariums? They were beaten and starved? That folks with the diagnosis are still at significantly elevated risk of suicide?
I am heartbroken that people were hurt by one of the worst slurs humanity has ever devised. I know that word is violence, even if you’re told the person saying it didn’t mean it. I never wanted to minimize that hurt, only suggest we understand this disability. I wanted compassion for Mr. Davidson but I didn’t want to remove compassion for anyone else.
You’re right, it is personal to me. This comment section proves, to me, that my child will always be an outsider, and he will be understood and accepted by only a few. We will never do better. I have no idea why I tried. Nothing will ever change.
I don’t think anyone said that Mr. Davidson shouldn’t go out in public. There’s a big difference between going out in public and yelling racist slurs on an international awards program. I’m sorry you’re heartbroken but pitying your child could set him/her up to fail. Many people with Tourette’s are very successful in life.
@beana
I really hope you take this comment in the spirit that it is given.
As I stated before I’m sure this is personal to you, but do you not feel that it is also personal to me as a black person watching a racial slur be hurled at someone that looks like me?
I’m not going to speak to anyone else’s intentions only what I have written, you seem to be taking these comments and the pushback as Mr Davidson should not be allowed out in public. That’s not the case. What we’re saying is that Mr Davidson has just as much obligation in society to make sure that he is not causing harm as harm is not caused to him.
It’s interesting to me for all of the calls of ableism towards him, people are not acknowledging the inherent ableism of pretending that he has zero agency over his interactions with people before he’s in a stressful situation and after. Can he control the neurological tics that tourette’s cause him? No. Can he proactively plan for how he will handle situations that may stress him out and how he will remove himself from those situations? Yes. Can he acknowledge that his proactive approach fell short in particular instances and apologize to any people that may have been harmed by his actions in that moment? Yes.
Putring the onus on other people to ignore his actions because he is incapable of any agency is the issue. Also expecting people to swallow the real racial trauma that they experience hearing that word hurled at them because his disability is more serious in your mind than hearing that word is very offensive.
Well hopefully you are teaching your kid to apologize sincerely if he causes anyone harm.
Mr Davidson’s statement after this happened was not at all an apology.
“it didn’t mean anything even if you thought it did”
That’s not an apology that’s gaslighting.
Mental illness is not an excuse for hurting people, it’s not an excuse for not taking accountability.
My kids and I have Multiple mental illness diagnosis’s. I assure you my kids would apologize sincerely if they cause any one harm, they have been taught to do that and we have had many discussions on accountability.
Just because the hurt wasn’t intentional DOES NOT mean hurt wasn’t caused. You should feel bad for hurting someone and you should apologize. It doesn’t matter why it happened.
It doesn’t hurt you to say you’re sorry, it does hurt the other person further if you don’t say you’re sorry.
Have you bothered to read what any Black sufferers of his condition have to say about this on the internet? I strongly recommend it since you seem to be ignoring this aspect. Your child is not doomed to be an outsider just because this guy is entitled (and the statement he released shows he is).
Welcome to the club of outsiders. These of us who get called racial slurs know the feeling well. We know what it’s like and it’s even harsher to realize that no one around us acknowledges the abuse— BBC and BAFTA case in point. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve avoided social situations where I know certain people with racist tendency (intentional or ignorant) would be there. Sometimes I can’t avoid it because it’s a work situation or a family engagement but yeah, biting my tongue while people laugh at awful mean jokes or stories or behave badly is an experience many of us have endured.
A real apology would go a long way here. The apology would address the hurt and harm of using the N word. A true apology addresses the people who were harmed. To do so would showcase that real understanding: (that while the intent to harm was not there) the acknowledgment of using such words is indeed hurtful. It’d go a long way to make the public understand the medical condition and give Mr. Davidson tremendous agency in taking personal responsibility.
Just wanted to say I came here for the interesting, nuanced thoughts & arguments about this incident. Thank you to all commenters.
I’m reposting this as it was a reply to a comment that appears to have disappeared:
💯. I actually dove into and read some of the comments at the Daily Mail about this matter and was absolutely shocked that most people just felt it was nothing and because this guy didn’t mean to yell it (?) there was no foul.
But there were a couple of really good comments. One of which stated, essentially, if someone with tourette’s or another disabling condition had the habit of, unwillingly, striking out with their fist and pummeling people they were seated next to, would that person have been seated in the audience? No they would not. And, I can imagine that being called the n word would be as shocking and hurtful as a gut punch – if not more.
Yes, BAFTA and the BBC screwed up by not apologizing directly to the actors involved here and not editing out the outburst, but I lay much of the blame on the gentleman with tourette’s syndrome.
If he was prone to blurting and shouting out expletives and racist epithets then he should have known to self-censor. And, in this case, the only way for him to self-censor effectively would be to watch the proceedings backstage in a screeningscreening room with friends and family, and not in the audience during a televised event.
Accommodating a person due to a disability is very important. However, not to the point where it exposes others to and causes hurt.
Your last paragraph says it all
I call Bullshit. I know two people who have that disease And they have NEVER Uttered that Disgusting Word!!!