Jamie Foxx Calls BAFTAs Guest’s Racial Slur ‘Unacceptable’ Despite His Behavior Linked to Tourette’s

Jamie Foxx is not looking for excuses.

After John Davidson — who lives with Tourette syndrome and whose life inspired the film I Swear — shouted the N-word while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo (who are Black) presented the Best Special Visual Effects category at the 79th British Academy Film Awards, Foxx weighed in on the controversy.

Following the BAFTAs outburst, the Neighborhood Talk Instagram account shared video footage of the moment hours later on Sunday, February 22.

“Nah he meant that s**t,” the Django Unchained star, 58, wrote in the comment section. “Out of all the words, you could’ve said Tourette’s makes you say that?”

“Unacceptable,” Foxx added in another comment.

While many people backed the actor up in the comments section, BAFTAs host Alan Cumming previously pointed out at the show that Tourette’s is a disorder that can’t always be controlled.

“You may have heard some strong and offensive language tonight,” the Traitors star said. “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,” Cumming added. “We apologize if you were offended.”

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.”

According to Variety, Davidson, 54 — who also had other tic-related outbursts throughout the evening — voluntarily left the celebration, and a source told the publication that he was an “invited guest” and would not have been asked to leave.

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.”

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