BBC apologises after racial slur aired from BAFTAs audience member with Tourette syndrome - while political speech is edited down

The BBC has issued an apology after a racial slur was heard during last night's broadcast of the BAFTA Film Awards from Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (22 February).

The comments by audience member John Davidson, who suffers from a form of Tourette’s syndrome that includes uncontrollable vocal tics, were made while Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award of the night.

BAFTAs host Alan Cumming addressed the incident shortly afterwards, explaining to viewers: "You may have noticed some strong language in the background.

"This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film [I Swear] explores that experience. Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone."

I Swear, which won two awards on the night, tells the true story of Davidson, a man living with a form of Tourette's which includes coprolalia, defined as involuntary swearing or the utterance of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks.

Later in the ceremony, the presenter provided further context. He said: "Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you are offended tonight."

A BBC spokesperson told Radio Times: "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."

Speaking to Vanity Fair after the ceremony, Lindo said that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while presenting the category, but that he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards”.

In a statement, BAFTA said it acknowledged the “harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all”.

Davidson, a Tourette’s campaigner from Scotland, who was made an MBE in 2019, said on Monday in a statement that he was "deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning".

He continued: "I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette's community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so.

"I chose to leave the auditorium early into the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing."

The statement from BAFTA also said: "We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion. We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.

"Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room. Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism."

BAFTA also thanked John for “his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him”.

“We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy.”

The decision of the BBC to air the remarks has come under scrutiny. The ceremony is broadcast on a two-hour delay rather than live – meaning there was an option to edit out the slurs.

This criticism has been exacerbated due to the fact that other parts of the ceremony were censored. The acceptance speech of Akinola Davies Jr – who won the award for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer category for his film My Father's Shadow – was significantly cut.

During his speech, Davies Jr drew attention to various geopolitical issues and dedicated his award to "all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children."

He added: "To the economic migrant. The conflict migrant. Those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution, and those experiencing genocide. You matter. Your stories matter more than ever. Your dreams are an act of resistance to those watching at home.

"Archive your loved ones. Archive your stories yesterday, today, and forever. For Nigeria, for London, the Congo, Sudan, free Palestine."

This entire part of the speech was omitted from the BBC's broadcast, with the corporation issuing a statement explaining that the decision was "made to ensure the programme was delivered to time".

The statement read: "The live event is three hours and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on-air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night."

Meanwhile, it was also made clear that all winners' speeches would be available to watch in full via BAFTA's YouTube channel.

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