Photo: Stuart Wilson (BAFTA/Getty Images)

The 79th British Academy Film Awards were held on Sunday night, at London’s Royal Festival Hall. And what was supposed to be an evening celebrating the year’s best achievements in foreign and national films quickly turned into a night of despair.

As presenters for the evening’s first award—for special visual effects—Oscar-nominated actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo stood poised together on stage, as they began to read off the list of the category’s nominees. But just a mere few seconds into their presentation, they were shockingly interrupted by an audience member’s loud shouting of a violent and dangerous racial epithet. The N-word was hurled at them by John Davidson, a white guest with Tourette’s syndrome.  

Caught on camera in visible disbelief, Jordan and Lindo both paused momentarily after hearing the racial slur—which was also followed up with a profanity that sounded like the word b*tch—but continued to finish presenting the category. Lindo, who had been vocal about the situation, left the ceremony shortly after walking off stage.

In an attempt to pacify viewers and the audience, BAFTA host Alan Cumming took to the stage after the incident and said, “We apologize if you were offended,” utilizing medical industry talking points to justify Davidson’s “uncontrollable” Tourette’s outburst. Yet, neither Cumming nor BAFTA made an apparent effort to immediately apologize to Jordan or Lindo, or the Black community, which was a victim of the outburst. Cumming further thanked the audience for their “understanding” of Davidson’s actions.  

The National Library of Medicine defines Tourette Syndrome as: “a common neurodevelopmental disorder affecting up to one percent of the population. It is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics that begin in childhood.” Davidson—who attended the ceremony in support of a film that’s based on his own life’s journey with the syndrome—is a self-described “Tourette’s campaigner” who reportedly suffers from Coprolalia, which the NLM says affects “less than 10%” of people with Tourette’s. It is defined as “shouting expletives or other obscenities.”  

After the ceremony, Davidson issued a statement saying that he was “deeply mortified” if his involuntary tics were considered intentional. He also stated he left the ceremony earlier than desired, due to the “distress” his tics caused. Yet (at the time of our reporting), he has not offered a direct apology to either Jordan or Lindo for the historical impact and harm of the racial slur he uttered towards them. Moreover, Davidson also spouted the N-word—off-camera—towards Sinners’ production designer, Hannah Beachler. Beachler described the incident on her X account, stating that she couldn’t “find the words” to describe the entire situation, but that she was indeed also called the N-word as she was exiting the venue on her way to dinner. She, too, has not received a formal apology from Davidson.

In a flaccid attempt to sustain Cummings’ placating of the audience, the BBC has since issued an apology for allowing the racial slur to still be audible on the show’s pre-recorded taping. Due to the broadcaster’s two-hour time delay after the live show, the producers had ample time to cut Davidson’s outburst, but chose to overlook it while simultaneously editing out a peaceful “Free Palestine” comment made by filmmaker Akinola Davies, Jr. (who won the British writing debut award for My Father’s Shadow). Regarding all of this, the BBC responded: “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.”    

Understandably upset, Lindo spoke to Vanity Fair after the ceremony and shared that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” in that moment of presenting on stage. But he lamented the fact that no one from BAFTA “spoke to us afterward.”      

 Separately responding to the public outcry over Sunday’s sensitive incident, popular social media personality Shayla Amamiya addressed the situation at the request of her fans. Amamiya—a Black content creator diagnosed with Coprolalia, and who documents her daily experiences of living with the syndrome—seemingly came to the defense of Davidson (and the overall Tourette’s community), saying: “The ableism is so painful to view, and so is the racism I’m seeing. Both sides are understood.” She also made clear that “Michael, Delroy, Ryan, and anyone else personally affected deserve immediate apologies and explanations” from Davidson, BAFTA, and the BBC.  

Instagram user @Nathelia_J offered a differing view from Amamiya, stating: “Using Tourette’s as an excuse for racial slurs falls short. Why was the N-word chosen, and why weren’t white actors targeted with similar language?” Another commentator agreed: “The impact of a racial slur does not evaporate simply because the speaker did not choose it. Harm can be unintentional and still land heavily,” shared @Beebuzz_1813.  

Despite having to navigate such a painful and troublesome experience on such a major awards stage—and during Black History Month—Coogler and Sinners did manage to make BAFTA’s history by taking home the award for Original Screenplay (as the first Black winner in this category). The film also earned additional wins for Original Score and Supporting Actress—for Wunmi Mosaku.