Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: BAFTA Awards

BAFTA Awards: John Davidson Addresses N-Word Tic, BBC Airing Incident

John Davidson addressed his use of the N-word at the BAFTA Awards while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting, and much more.

As questions remain regarding how Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson yelling out the N-word as one of his tics while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage made it into Sunday's 2026 BAFTA Awards broadcast, we're getting a chance to hear from Davidson in a new interview that went live earlier today. Over the course of the email interview with Variety, Davidson offers an explanation of his Tourette's syndrome and the ways it impacts him on a daily basis, how it worsens during stressful situations, and what went down leading into, during, and after the incident at the BAFTA Awards.

Whatever your position on the incident, the full interview is definitely worth your time because it answers a number of questions folks have had. Regarding the event itself and the controversy over how the incident couldn't make its way on the air, Davidson's interview also helped fill in the blanks regarding who knew what and who spoke with whom. Here are just some of the highlights (with the full interview available here):

Davidson: "My tics have absolutely nothing to do with what I think, feel, or believe": "I want people to know and understand that my tics have absolutely nothing to do with what I think, feel or believe. It's an involuntary neurological misfire. My tics are not an intention, not a choice and not a reflection of my values," Davidson shared, offering an example from his life that was dramatized in the film I Swear to demonstrate his point. "Tourette's can make my body or voice do things I don't mean, and sometimes those tics land on the worst possible words. I want to be really clear that the intent behind them is zero. What you're hearing is a symptom — not my character, not my thought, not my belief. Tourette's can feel spiteful and searches out the most upsetting tic for me personally and for those around me. What you hear me shouting is literally the last thing in the world I believe; it is the opposite of what I believe. The most offensive word that I ticked at the ceremony, for example, is a word I would never use and would completely condemn if I did not have Tourette's."

Davidson on Being Triggered by What He Sees: "I am often triggered by what I see and/or what I hear, and this part of the condition is called echolalia. For example, when the chair of BAFTA started speaking on Sunday, I shouted, 'Boring.' On Sunday, Alan Cumming joked about his own sexuality and, when referencing Paddington Bear, said, 'Maybe you would like to come home with me, Paddington. It wouldn't be the first time I have taken a hairy Peruvian bear home with me.' This resulted in homophobic tics from me and led to a shout of 'pedophile' that was likely triggered because Paddington Bear is a children's character."

Davidson Clarifies That He Ticked "Perhaps 10 Different Offensive Words" During BAFTA Awards: At one point during the interview, Davidson sought to clarify the impression he believes is being offered by the press covering the incident that the N-word was the only offensive thing he said that night. "I would appreciate reports of the event explaining that I ticked perhaps 10 different offensive words on the night of the awards," Davidson shared. "The N-word was one of these, and I completely understand its significance in history and in the modern world, but most articles are giving the impression I shouted one single slur on Sunday."

Davidson, StudioCanal Were Told by BAFTA That Swearing Would Be Edited Out: "StudioCanal were working closely with BAFTA, and BAFTA had made us all aware that any swearing would be edited out of the broadcast. I have made four documentaries with the BBC in the past, and feel that they should have been aware of what to expect from Tourette's and worked harder to prevent anything that I said — which, after all, was some 40 rows back from the stage — from being included in the broadcast," Davidson revealed, adding that he had concerns about where a microphone was set up. "As I reflect on the auditorium, I remember there was a microphone just in front of me, and with hindsight I have to question whether this was wise, so close to where I was seated, knowing I would tic," he shared.

Davidson Says He Didn't Know His Tics Could Be Heard On the Stage Until Lindo, Jordan Were Presenting: "I had an expectation that the BBC would physically control the sound at the awards on Sunday. I was so far from the stage. From the lack of response from the early presenters to my tics, and with no one turning around to look at me, I assumed, like everyone else, that I could not be heard on the stage," Davidson shared. "The only time I became aware that my tic had reached the stage was when Delroy and Michael B. Jordan appeared to look up from their role as presenters, and soon after that I decided to leave the auditorium."

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