The 2026 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) outburst has people split on how to react, and to an extent, I honestly think both sides have a point.
John Davidson shouted a racial slur (The big N) while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage, presenting an award with millions of people tuned in on television.
The real question isn’t just “who gets all the blame or do we sweep this under the rug?” — it’s how we respond. Do we excuse it because of him having Tourette’s, or do we call it what it is: racism?
Coprolalia, where people involuntarily shout obscenities, is a symptom of Tourette’s. I get it; it is similar to intrusive thoughts. You don’t want to think about it, and it can even go against our way of thinking.
But if the BAFTAs knew this about him, why were there no preventative measures to censor obscenities and derogatory words? When shows are televised live, there is a tape delay to ensure that some things are blurred and censored before hitting our screens, but not this time.
Some say Davidson is not excused at all because he has Tourette’s, or that BAFTA is to blame for this. Yes, context matters. If something truly wasn’t intentional, that should be part of the conversation. But at the same time, we can’t pretend that intent is the only thing that matters. Impact matters, too, and the impact here was real.
Given this, BAFTA could’ve just censored the slur, and this whole situation could’ve been avoided. And now many, including Davidson, are blaming BAFTA’s media crew for negligence in not censoring this slur. Many say Davidson is not at fault because BBC was aware that he had tics. However they censored everything else they didn’t agree with, but somehow missed the N-word? Considering BBC saw something as anti-semetic, in the case of British director Akinola Davies Junior, and censored it immediately.
However, a racial slur doesn’t just get brushed under the rug simply because Davidson has Tourette’s. It is important to hold him accountable — accident or not.
Along the same lines as BAFTA, Davidson could have taken preventative measures such as just not showing up. These options could’ve stopped the incident from happening altogether!
I don’t want to make this seem as though he is less than, nor make him feel excluded, but if he knows his tics are offensive and triggered by the context of a person and environment, then I think these precautions you just have to take.
I can see why our first instinct would be to point a finger at either Davidson or BAFTA’s media, but the damage has already been done, and he should have publicly held himself accountable and given viewers an apology — not because he got caught, but because he truly understood the weight of this situation. Allegedly Davidson privately apologized to Jordan and Lindo for something so public, which … OK.
So, now, I am considering whether Davidson apologized. Was he sincerely sorry, or was he tired of the backlash? John Davidson said that “BBC should have worked harder to prevent anything that I said” at the Bafta Film Awards, which shows that Davidson’s main concern was the fact that BAFTA did not censor the slur, jeopardizing him.
Sure, I can’t really prove his level of sincerity because I’m not Davidson, but — considering the timing of his apology and the fact that he pointed the finger at BBC and their editing skills, almost like to get some weight off of his back — I think it was more of a “here, d*mn” personally. I am aware of his disability, but we have to consider that in this political climate and the slur used. I and many others aren’t thinking of his condition first.
When people immediately defend Davidson and blame everything on Tourette’s, we shut down any real conversation about accountability. There shouldn’t be a “choose-a-side” situation; it is important to consider all aspects of this situation and how it led up to this.
BAFTA is at fault, but Davidson has to hold himself responsible to the public. I would have to say, hypothetically, would BAFTA have invited a Black person with Tourette’s to this award show? The answer already kind of stands considering that everything that was Pro-Palestine was censored immediately during this event, but completely missed the loud and proud N-Word.
At the end of the day, I believe we can acknowledge someone’s condition while still holding both Davidson and BBC accountable, making a very public apology to the actors and the viewers. Calling out racism doesn’t automatically make someone ableist, and using Tourette’s as a shield for this only makes it harder to take situations like this seriously. I can acknowledge this condition, but I must also acknowledge how this situation has and will continue to hold a lot of weight.
