On Sunday evening at the 2026 BAFTAs, Sinners’s Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage presenting the award for best visual effects when a guest started shouting the N-word from elsewhere in the room. The moment, which was left uncensored in the BBC’s broadcast of the ceremony, prompted gasps from the audience.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, attendees were notified before the start of the ceremony that they might hear “involuntary noises and movements” from Scottish activist John Davidson, whose struggle with Tourette’s syndrome is the subject of the 2025 biopic I Swear. Davidson could be heard cursing several times during the evening, including shouting “Shut the fuck up” during BAFTA chair Sara Putt’s introductory remarks. At one point, host Alan Cumming paused his comments to address the interruptions: “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,” he said from the stage. “We apologize if you are offended tonight.”
Shortly after the incident, Davidson excused himself from the theater to watch in a separate room. Later that evening, in the show’s biggest curveball, Robert Aramayo, who plays Davidson in I Swear, beat Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Actor.
An estimated one in 160 people suffer from Tourette’s, a neurological disorder that can result in sudden and unwanted tics including twitching, swearing, and shouting. One symptom, known as coprolalia, involves “the involuntary outburst of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks,” as defined by the Tourette Association of America. (One scene from I Swear re-creates a 2019 incident in which, while receiving a lifetime recognition from Queen Elizabeth II, Davidson blurted out “Fuck the queen!” instead of thanking her.) The Tourette Association of America and other advocates have stressed that the offensive actions are “often distressing to an individual, and not indicative of their personal convictions.”
Still, the moment has caused widespread controversy, particularly outrage at the BBC and BAFTA for airing what happened. Though the program was broadcast at a two-hour delay, the BBC failed to remove the slur (while censoring “Free Palestine” from Akinola Davies Jr.’s speech for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer for his movie, according to Deadline).
Later in the evening, Lindo told Vanity Fair at the Warner Bros. after-party that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” but wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.” Actor Wendell Pierce wrote on X, “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throatted [sic] apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur.”
Sinners’s production designer, Hannah Beachler, also expressed her dismay on X, noting that Davidson had said the N-word three times, including to her on the way to dinner after the show. “I understand and deeply know why this is an impossible situation … But what made the situation worse was the throw away apology of ‘if you were offended’ at the end of the show,” she wrote.
The BBC issued a formal apology for “strong and offensive language” on Monday afternoon. “We apologize that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer,” the broadcaster wrote in a statement sent to The Cut. It’s unclear whether the BBC reached out to Jordan or Lindo personally.
The BAFTAs apologized for “putting our guests in a very difficult situation” in a statement sent to The Cut. “Our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many,” the statement said, adding that Davidson’s tics are “in no way a reflection of an individual’s beliefs and are not intentional.” The organization added that it apologizes “unreservedly” to Jordan and Lindo “and to all those impacted” and thanked the actors “for their incredible dignity and professionalism.” They also thanked Davidson for choosing to watch the rest of the ceremony from a different room, “for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.”
Following the apology from the BAFTAs, Davidson released his own statement, adding: “I am and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.” He thanked BAFTA for inviting him to attend the broadcast and giving the audience a heads-up, also noting that he chose to leave the auditorium early “as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.” He concluded, “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.”
In the wake of the incident, one BAFTA judge, Jonte Richardson, announced his resignation on LinkedIn: “I cannot and will not contribute my time energy and expertise to an organisation that has repeatedly failed to safeguard the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community,” he wrote on Monday. Referring to the “harm inflicted on both the Black and disabled communities,” he allowed that the BAFTA apology was better than the BBC one but nonetheless found the “lack of safeguarding for all parties involved” and “fact that it took 24 hours and intense backlash” for a formal response unforgivable.
This post has been updated.