Sinners' production designer Hannah Beachler has made a statement regarding the “almost impossible" situation at last night's BAFTAs.
John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome [TS] and is the subject of Kirk Jones' biopic I Swear, shouted out racial slurs during last night's ceremony. Notably, Davidson shouted out the N-word during Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo's presentation of the award for Best Visual Effects to Avatar: Fire and Ash. Davidson also reportedly shouted out “boring” and “f**k off” during BAFTA chair Sara Putt's opening remarks.
Later in the show, Alan Cumming, the show's host, made an on-stage apology for Davidson's comments. “You may have noticed some strong language in the background there, this can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” he said. He added that he was “sorry if anyone was offended.”
A BBC spokesperson later added, “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards 2026. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard.”
Hannah Beachler, who was present at the awards, has now made her own statement regarding the incident.
“I keep trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs, and I can’t find the words," she wrote on X. "The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show.
“And a third time at a Black woman. I understand and deeply know why this is an impossible situation. I know we must handle this with grace and continue to push through. But what made the situation worse was the throw-away apology of ‘if you were offended’ at the end of the show.
“Of course we were offended…but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened. I am not steal, this did not bounce off of me, but I exist above it. It can’t take away from who I am as an artist.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, attendees were told, “John has Tourette’s Syndrome, so please be aware you might hear some involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony." A source noted that this announcement was made only minutes before the ceremony began. Davidson reportedly left the room of his own accord around 25 minutes into the show shortly following his outburst during Jordan and Lindo’s presentation.
Others have taken to social media to note that the BBC could censored the outbursts as the ceremony was not broadcast live.
Weekend sorted.
The BBC has since issued an apology for failing to edit out Davidson's audible comments from their broadcast. A BBC spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional. We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”
At 16, Davidson was the subject of BBC documentary John's Not Mad. He went on to work as a campaigner, seeking to spread awareness about the realities of life with Tourette syndrome and fight the widespread misinformation about the condition, which can lead to involuntary outbursts.
Robert Aramayo, who portrays Davidson in I Swear, took home the EE BAFTA Rising Star award as well as the Leading Actor award at last night's ceremony.
In his winning speech, he praised Davidson as “the most remarkable man I ever met,” adding, “He’s so forthcoming with education and he believes there should be still so much more we need to learn about Tourette’s.”
Kirk Jones' movie about a real-life activist with Tourette's syndrome is a BAFTA-recognised must-watch.
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