The organisers of the Bafta awards have issued a statement after Tourette Syndrome campaigner John Davidson shouted a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for Best Visual Effects at the award ceremony on Sunday.
Michael and Delroy, who starred in the 2025 film Sinners, were presenting the award at the event when Davidson was heard shouting the N-word. It sparked anger from several Black actors and a production designer, who demanded a comprehensive apology.
The apology was shared on Bafta’s official website Monday. “At the BAFTA Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many. We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all,” the statement read.
“One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette Syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for better understanding of this condition,” the organisers continued.
Tourette Syndrome causes involuntary verbal tics that the individual has no control over, the organisers explained. “Such tics are in no way a reflection of an individual’s beliefs and are not intentional,” they added.
Davidson attended the London event on Sunday for his life-inspired the film I Swear, which bagged three awards.
“We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion. We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony,” the note continued.
Addressing the incident, they apologised for the “loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term”.
“We apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism,” they said.
Davidson left the auditorium and watched the rest of the ceremony from a screen, the organisers revealed. “We would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him,” they added.
“We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy,” the note concluded.
After the loud tic was heard, host Alan Cumming put the show on halt and explained that it wasn’t voluntary, but a result of Davidson’s Tourette Syndrome.
The BBC also apologised on Monday for failing to edit out a racial slur from its broadcast of the award ceremony. The broadcaster aired the show around two hours later and the offensive word was not censored or edited out. It continued to remain on its streaming platform until Monday morning.
However, the BBC had reportedly edited out director Akinola Davies Jr. saying, "Free Palestine" during an acceptance speech from its broadcast.
The film I Swear focuses on Davidson and his struggle with Tourette Syndrome. Robert Aramayo plays the role of Davidson in the film, which is executive produced by the latter. Davidson was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II in 2018.