Alan Cumming thanks audience after alan cumming appears to be heckled during BAFTAs

Host alan cumming paused during the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday night to thank the audience for their understanding after a series of audible interruptions from Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson. The exchanges—heard at the Royal Festival Hall during the ceremony on 22 February—left viewers and some in the room confused and prompted onstage remarks about involuntary tics.

Royal Festival Hall, celebrity guests and the 22 February ceremony

Celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael B Jordan and Emma Stone arrived at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday night, where the ceremony was held to honour the best in British film on 22 February. The event was hosted by Cumming, who took over the role following a two-year stint by David Tennant. Early in his opening monologue Cumming appeared to be heckled; he continued his set despite the disruption.

John Davidson’s history, role and floor manager introduction

John Davidson, the campaigner whose outbursts were heard in the auditorium, is the inspiration for the film I Swear. He was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome at the age of 25, though his symptoms first began when he was 12. Those symptoms include tics and uncontrollable outbursts, often involving cursing. Before the ceremony the floor manager 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. ”

Specific outbursts heard during speeches, winners and presenters

A number of outbursts could be heard throughout the BAFTA ceremony. One interruption—“shut the fuck up”—came during an introductory speech from BAFTA chair Sara Putt. When the directors of Boong collected the BAFTA for best children’s and family film an audible shout of “fuck you” occurred as they accepted their award. During another outburst the audience heard Davidson shout the n-word while Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for best visual effects to Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Alan Cumming’s onstage statements and the apology

Cumming addressed the room during the live event, telling the audience, which included the Prince and Princess of Wales, that they “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. ” He later made a further statement: “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. ” At another point Cumming briefly paused proceedings to apologise and thank the audience for creating a “respectful space for everyone, ” and reiterated that the tics are involuntary: “We apologise if you were offended. ”

I Swear, Robert Aramayo, nominations and what happened after the interruptions

I Swear features Robert Aramayo as John Davidson, following him at the age of 25 after his appearance in the seminal documentary John’s Not Mad. The film was directed, written and produced by Kirk Jones and was up for five BAFTAs, including best leading actor for Aramayo, best supporting actor for Peter Mullan, best original screenplay and casting; the film won the casting award and was also competing for outstanding British film. Aramayo was awarded the EE Rising Star prize on Sunday night and, collecting that award, said: “John Davidson is the most remarkable man I ever met. He’s so forthcoming with education and he believes there should be still so much more we need to learn about Tourette’s. Especially, I just want to say for people who are living with Tourette’s it’s the buzz around th".

The outbursts were not audible in the second half of the ceremony after Davidson appeared to have left the room; he left of his own accord and was not asked to leave by BAFTA. An earlier statement described Davidson as an “invited guest” and said he would not be asked to leave. BAFTA did not respond to comment about whether the interruptions would be edited for the delayed broadcast.