BAFTAs host Alan Cumming said everyone was “let down” after a racial slur was hurled at presenters Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan, calling the award ceremony a “trauma triggering s---show.”
“I’m so sorry for all the pain Black people have felt at hearing that word echoed round the world,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. “I’m so sorry the Tourettes community has been reminded of the lack of understanding and tolerance that abounds regarding their condition.”
Cummings hosted the Feb. 22 British Academy Film Awards, during which Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson yelled expletives, including the racial slur, at Lindo and Jordan, who are Black. The “Sinners” co-stars briefly paused before presenting the award for best visual effects.
Cummings said in his Instagram post that the “only possible good that could come of this is a reminder that words matter, that rushing to judgement about things of which we are not fully cognisant is folly, that all trauma must be recognised and honoured.”
“We were all let down by decisions made to both broadcast slurs and censor free speech,” he added. “Congratulations to all the artists whose work was overshadowed by the night’s events.”
Davidson has a form of Tourette syndrome called coprolalia, which is the involuntary use of offensive or insensitive language. He was attending the awards show as the executive producer of “I Swear,” a film that follows his diagnosis and the challenges he has faced.
“It is one of the hardest tics to manage and can be very distressing for those living with it,” he told Variety in an emailed statement.
He said that before the ceremony, BAFTA told him that any swearing would be edited out of the broadcast.
Davidson said his tics can be “aggressive,” and he does not know “when they are coming or what they will be.” He said he “felt a wave of shame and embarrassment” following the BAFTA incident.
“I want people to know and understand that my tics have absolutely nothing to do with what I think, feel or believe,” he said, describing it as an “involuntary neurological misfire.”
“My tics are not an intention, not a choice and not a reflection of my values,” he added.
Davidson went on to say that he ticked about “10 different offensive words” at the ceremony, including yelling “pedophile” while Cumming was speaking about his sexuality.
BAFTA said in a statement on Instagram that it took measures to make sure guests at the award show knew about Davidson’s tics, and apologized to Lindo and Jordan.
“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 statement read.
