BBC Apologizes for Not Editing Out Racial Slur Shouted by Guest With Tourette Syndrome at BAFTAs

The BBC has apologized after coming under fire for airing slurs said by a BAFTAs guest who lives with Tourette syndrome despite the broadcast on BBC One being on a time delay.

At the 79th British Academy Film Awards, held on Sunday, February 22, John Davidson — whose life inspired the film I Swear, about a man who lives with severe Tourette’s — shouted the N-word while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo (who are Black) presented the Best Special Visual Effects category.

The 54-year-old Tourette’s activist also had other tic-related outbursts throughout the evening.

According to Variety, there was a two-hour delay between the ceremony and its airing on BBC One in the U.K., and the outbursts were not cut.

In a statement shared Monday, February 23, a BBC spokesperson said, “We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”

During the ceremony, host Alan Cumming also apologized to the audience, saying, “You may have heard some strong and offensive language tonight. If you have seen the film I Swear, you will know that the film is about the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome.”

“Tourette syndrome is a disability, and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language,” the Traitors host added. “We apologize if you were offended.”

According to Variety, Davidson voluntarily left the celebration, and a source told the publication that he was an “invited guest” and would not have been asked to leave.

Tourette’s, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, is a “neurological disorder that may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics.”

Robert Aramayo, who won the best actor award for playing Davidson in I Swear, told BBC News that Davidson was “ticking” during the ceremony, adding: “We have to understand that the way we perceive Tourette’s is a joint responsibility.”

“It’s not shouting obscenities, it’s not being abusive, it’s Tourette’s, and they’re tics,” he explained. “So if it can lead to a deeper understanding of Tourette’s syndrome and what tics actually are, if our movie is a part of that conversation, then that’s a really incredible thing.”