BBC Apologizes After Tourette’s Activist Shouts N-Word at Michael B Jordan, Delroy Lindo During BAFTA Broadcast

(Screengrab via X)

The BBC has apologized for airing a racial slur shouted out by Scottish Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson during its 2026 BAFTA Film Awards broadcast while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage.

The actors, who star in the 2025 film Sinners, were announcing the winner for best visual effects when the slur was heard from the audience. Davidson, an invited guest and the inspiration for the BAFTA-nominated film I Swear, was seated in the auditorium at the time.

Jordan and Lindo ignored the interruption and continued with the presentation, awarding the prize to Avatar: Fire and Ash, as the ceremony continued.

Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by involuntary tics, including sudden movements or sounds. Davidson additionally experiences coprolalia, which is when those with Tourette’s syndrome shout involuntary swear words or make socially inappropriate remarks.

Further outbursts were heard earlier in the ceremony, including during BAFTA chair Sara Putt’s opening remarks and another acceptance speech, when Davidson shouted, “Shut the f*ck up” and “f*ck up!”

Davidson’s experiences trying to manage his condition as a teenager were first profiled in a BBC documentary in the 1980s, which resulted in follow-up films as he navigated the complexities of Tourette’s into adulthood.

BAFTA host Alan Cumming addressed the incident shortly afterwards: “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. Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”

Cumming later added: “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.”

He concluded: “We apologize if you are offended tonight.”

Still, fellow actors like past BAFTA winner Jamie Foxx and Wendell Pierce were gobsmacked by the situation, taking to social media to vent their frustration.

“Out of all the words, you could have said Tourette’s makes you say that?” Foxx said in an Instagram comment on a post about the video, before adding “Nah he meant that sh*t” and “Unacceptable.”

Pierce said that if anybody was to receive an apology or explanation, it should be Jordan and Lindo.

A spokesperson for the BBC addressed the interruptions in a statement after the event: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the Bafta Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette’s syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologize for any offence caused by the language heard.”

The broadcast, it emerged, was pre-recorded with the live 3-hour event edited down for the 2-hour broadcast slot, which it used to cut a portion of the winning speech by My Father’s Shadow filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. who said: “Free Palestine.”

Variety reported that Davidson appeared to leave during the second half of the event. A source told the outlet he was an “invited guest” and would not have been asked to leave.

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