John Davidson’s Outburst at BAFTAs Prompts Apologies and Debate
john davidson, the real-life inspiration for the film I Swear, shouted the N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo during the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday night, touching off onstage explanations, a broadcaster apology and wide conversation among nominees and guests.
What happened in the Royal Festival Hall
The incident occurred while Jordan and Lindo, stars of Sinners, were presenting the award for best visual effects to Avatar: Fire and Ash at London’s Royal Festival Hall. Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, made involuntary vocal tics during the show and at one point yelled the racial slur as the presenters were onstage; audience members gasped and Jordan was visibly startled.
John Davidson’s tics and how the ceremony handled them
Davidson’s exclamations began early: he shouted “Boring!” during housekeeping instructions, said “Bullshit!” when attendees were asked not to curse and told the room “Shut the fuck up” while BAFTA chair Sara Putt was speaking. Those outbursts occurred numerous times over the first 20 minutes of the ceremony, and Davidson left the auditorium around 25 minutes into the proceedings; unclear in the provided context whether he was asked to leave or left of his own accord.
Alan Cumming interrupted to explain Tourette’s
Host Alan Cumming stopped his monologue to address the audience after the louder incidents. “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 said from the stage, adding, “Thanks for your understanding and for helping create a respectful space for everyone. ” He repeated the point later, noting that Tourette’s is a disability and the tics were involuntary.
Broadcaster apologizes and says edits will be made
The BAFTA broadcast aired on a tape delay; a spokesperson said some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language that arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome and that it was not intentional. The spokesperson apologized that the language was not edited out prior to broadcast and said it will now be removed. The also said that other edits were made to ensure the program was delivered to time and did not air outstanding-British-debut winner Akinola Davies Jr. saying “free Palestine” at the end of his speech.
Reactions in the room and at after-parties
At the Warner Bros. after-party, Delroy Lindo said he and Michael B. Jordan “did what we had to do” while presenting the award but wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterward. ” Lindo was later seen chatting with his Sinners costar Wunmi Mosaku, who won the BAFTA for best supporting actress. Jordan attended an after-party hosted by British GQ and Vogue briefly, as he was listed as one of the event’s hosts. Production designer Hannah Beachler wrote on X that the Davidson situation “is almost impossible…it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show. ”
Winners, dinner talk and follow-up actions
Robert Aramayo, who portrayed the Scotsman at the center of I Swear, won both the BAFTA rising-star award and the lead actor prize, prevailing over front-runners Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Ryan Coogler won best original screenplay and said, “I come from a community that loves me and spoke a lot of power into me. They made me believe that I could do this. That I could be a writer. ” BAFTA hosted a dinner for nominees and guests after the ceremony where many people were talking about the incident.
john davidson’s outburst has prompted debate among attendees about Tourette’s and audience expectations. A floor manager had welcomed guests before the show, telling them, “John has Tourette’s syndrome, so please be aware you might hear some involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony. ”
The broadcaster has said it will remove the offensive language from the recording going forward; and BAFTA responses and the on-the-ground conversations at the nominees’ dinner are the immediate follow-up actions confirmed after the ceremony.
