The 2026 BAFTA Film Awards ceremony was at the center of a storm after a racial slur was shouted from the audience. It was audible during a live-to-tape broadcast and left unedited for hours on BBC iPlayer. Within 24 hours, both the BBC and BAFTA apologized for the incident.
What happened was that Scottish Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson’s involuntary vocal tic erupted while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award. Since then, people have been questioning inclusion and the editing decisions that follow in such cases. More importantly, who bears responsibility when intention and impact go their opposite ways?
During the EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, Jordan and Lindo (the lead actors of Sinners) took the stage to present the visual effects award. From the auditorium, Davidson shouted the ‘N’ word as a result of his Tourette’s syndrome.
This neurological condition presents itself in involuntary tics, which can be physical or vocal.
Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson has said the BBC could have done more to stop his involuntary racial slur about the stars of ‘Sinners’ from airing on national television.
In an interview with Variety, Davidson — whose dedication to helping those with Tourette syndrome was… pic.twitter.com/GLEqJlVAgj
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) February 25, 2026
Host Alan Cumming had already informed the audience that Davidson, an advocate and the inspiration behind the BAFTA-nominated film I Swear, was present and might have involuntary tics. After the slur was heard, Cumming once again explained that Tourette-related tics are involuntary and not intentional.
Additionally, he apologized if anyone was offended.
According to reports, Jordan looked visibly startled and the audience gasped. Davidson then left the ceremony midway through, as he was “deeply mortified” if anyone believed his tics were intentional or meant anything.
The BAFTAs were not broadcast live. The BBC One airing was delayed by around two hours, so editors had the time to cut or bleep inappropriate material. Yet, the slur aired. BBC producers later said they were monitoring the ceremony from a broadcast truck and did not hear the specific outburst in time to remove it.
However, other moments were edited, like filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. saying “Free Palestine,” which was cut, along with mild language profanities uttered by some winners which were bleeped.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that the selective editing was a “horrible mistake.”
The unedited broadcast was on BBC iPlayer overnight before being re-edited. The BBC issued a second apology to viewers because of the “strong and offensive language,” and said that it would be removed from on-demand versions.
John Davidson has reached out to Warner Bros to try and directly apologize to Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo and Hannah Beachler for shouting the N-word at the BAFTAs during an involuntary tic.
(Source: https://t.co/ezClF8KKCK) pic.twitter.com/iy9U5Yina8
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) February 25, 2026
Davidson was featured in the 1989 documentary John’s Not Mad and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2019. His life inspired I Swear, which won many BAFTAs, including best actor for Robert Aramayo, who played him.
In his acceptance speech, Aramayo praised Davidson’s advocacy and said that for people living with Tourette syndrome, community support defines their experience. The advocacy group Tourettes Action also said similar things after the ceremony.
Yet, actor Jamie Foxx reportedly found the moment unacceptable, while Wendell Pierce believed that immediate apologies to Jordan and Lindo should have been prioritized. Vanity Fair later reported that Lindo said he and Jordan “did what [they] had to do” onstage but really hoped that someone from BAFTA would speak to them after the incident.
