Bafta and BBC apologise after racial slur from guest with Tourette’s during awards show
Tourette’s campaigner ‘mortified’ after he shouted a racial slur at the Bafta Film Awards on Sunday night
The British Academy Film Awards and BBC apologised on Monday for a racial slur that was broadcast during Sunday’s show while two stars of the film Sinners were on stage.
The Tourette syndrome campaigner who shouted the slur said he was “deeply mortified” and what he said was “not a reflection of my personal beliefs”.
The highly offensive word could be heard as Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, who are both black, were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s ceremony. Host Alan Cumming had earlier told the audience that Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson was in attendance.
The incident prompted the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to apologise for “offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many”, adding “We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism”.
Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for people with Tourette syndrome, who inspired the Bafta-nominated film I Swear, said in a statement Monday that he was “deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning”.