Ableism vs Racism Debate after Racial Slur at the BAFTA’s
The 2026 BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, 22 February, sparked a national conversation on disability after Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson MBE involuntarily shouted a racial slur during the live broadcast.
The outburst occurred while African-American actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the Best Visual Effects award.
Davidson, an executive producer of the BAFTA-winning biopic I Swear, has lived with coprolalia, a symptom of Tourette’s involving involuntary offensive language, since age 12.
Host Alan Cumming addressed the audience twice, explaining: “Tourette syndrome is a disability and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary… we apologise if you are offended.”
BAFTA issued a formal apology to the presenters and audience, acknowledging the “incomparable trauma and pain” caused by the slur while thanking Jordan and Lindo for their “incredible dignity and professionalism.”
Speaking at a Vanity Fair afterparty, Lindo broke his silence, stating that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” by remaining composed, but added: “I wished someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.”
Davidson, who chose to leave the auditorium early to avoid further distress, stated he was “deeply mortified” and emphasised that the tics are “not a reflection of my personal beliefs.”
Despite the controversy, the night celebrated progress in representation, as I Swear star Robert Aramayo made history by winning both the Rising Star and Best Leading Actor awards for his portrayal of Davidson.
The outburst has unleashed a storm of discourse online with many conflicting viewpoints, with many highlighting the hurt that a racial slur can cause, while others argue that the tics caused by Tourette’s Syndrome are involuntary, with sufferers saying the most inappropriate thing that can be said in that moment, because slurs and expletives are stored in a different part of the brain.
Davidson is known to have also sworn in front of the Queen, when he was receiving his MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2019.
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