Last week, controversy erupted around the 2026 BAFTAs after the BBC aired the moment Scottish activist John Davidson, who has Tourette’s syndrome, shouted a racial slur while Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award. Since then, the BBC and the BAFTAs have apologized for the incident, with BBC producers saying they did not hear the slur while overseeing the event from a truck. Davidson also issued a statement, saying he is “deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning,” adding that he left the auditorium early “as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”
On Monday, just over a week after the BAFTAs, the evening’s host, Alan Cumming — who reminded audience members during the ceremony that “the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary” — also weighed in on Instagram. “What should have been an evening celebrating creativity as well as diversity and inclusion turned into a trauma triggering shitshow,” Cumming wrote. “I’m so sorry for all the pain Black people have felt at hearing that word echoed round the world. I’m so sorry the Tourettes community has been reminded of the lack of understanding and tolerance that abounds regarding their condition.”
Cumming also condemned the BBC’s decision not to censor the slur from the original broadcast, which was on a two-hour time delay (and did not include the moment filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. said “Free Palestine” at the end of his speech). “We were all let down by decisions made to both broadcast slurs and censor free speech,” Cumming wrote. “Congratulations to all the artists whose work was overshadowed by the night’s events.”