John Davidson shouting the N word during the BAFTAS

[Crawse]

John Davidson has Tourettes and is a campaigner for the condition. Whist Michale B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting he shouted out the racial slur. It’s extremely uncomfortable to watch. I feel terrible for the two presenters. I’m really conflicted on this one.

What are your thoughts?

No one should be subjected to abuse. That is my bottom line. Maybe the fact I was called P*** (I’m half Indian) growing up has influenced my views. I obviously recognise Tourette’s is involuntary.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/22/entertainment/baftas-2026-tourettes-racist-slur

Here's a couple more of people explaining their tics:

https://x.com/genapocalypse/status/2025736918143520963

Did you just compare being drunk to having tourettes? 🤦🏽‍♀️

I'm sure he's very sorry his neurological condition prevented him from being professional before he removed himself.

This is illuminating, thanks.

I've worked with a few people who have Tourettes along with other diagnoses - one of them told me how massively massively painful her motor tics were and how much more it hurt when she was trying to repress them.

I've been called all sorts over the years, also physically attacked - I work with adults with learning disabilities - and people just cannot help it.

Apparently attendees were advised that tics and shouts could happen before it started. It’s in the original link.

You should read the responses to this thread before commenting.

There are people who have clearly argued it was correct for the BBC to air it. (To encourage an "important discussion".)

If someone accidentally hits you with an object it can still hurt. Even if you understand the person throwing the object meant no harm.

It actually distresses me how widespread these views are that people can "help" brain conditions, because god help anyone with dementia being cared for people with those views.

They are not "always slurs/horrible words" this is a myth put forward by the media and various comedians.

And is one of the reasons why John Davidson's work is so important.

Its also interesting to see that some posters would like to return to the days when people with disabilities were locked away.

I think for me it's partly because of the word he used. I feel like that some people with tourettes just still wouldn't say the N word. But if he genuinely can't help it then fair enough.

Yes I do agree with this

Feminism and lets face it the feminism generally discussed on MN is white middle class stance on feminism. It not representative of all women's concerns, it can't be, but what is worse that it often does not acknowledge all woman's concerns if you don't agree you are simply wrong

That’s actually a sensible compromise.

He should attend as is his right but he should step out when black people are on stage or presenting, so that he doesn’t inadvertently use racist language when they’re on stage.

That way we protect two minorities, Tourette’s Syndrome sufferers and black / BAME people.

Did you sleep through the film when you watched it because it appears that you took nothing from it at all?

Ah, but don’t you understand, these two men had the audacity to be black in the presence of some poor little man who can’t help himself?

And this is the point on harassment. The words can constitute harassment where that was the effect, even if not the purpose.

It’s just an absolutely horrible situation for all involved.

No one should have to hear racist slurs. No one should be subject to ableist abuse or discriminated against for disability. Both those things can be true.

Oh my god. He can’t help it.

He can't help it. A link to an explaination of what happens has been posted on this thread multiple times. Maybe you should just read it?

If you get the hiccups, it would be deeply unfair for someone to claim to be insulted by it and that you just shouldn't do it, wouldn't it?

Oh, I’m no expert. I just found myself reading up on coprolalia after I had a student with it in a module I taught in the days before Disability Services at universities got their act together.

I haven’t read anywhere whether Jordan and Lindo had been prepped for this being likely to happen. I certainly found it easier to deal with once I understood more about the condition.

It's not a sensible compromise to keep him away from black people.

If he needs to be kept away from black people in case he uses a slur then he needs to be kept away from everyone in case he uses a slur - women, disabled people, gay people, fat people.....

Shutting someone away isn't the answer. Educating people is.

Diagnosis are higher in men than women, there are plenty of theories as to whyand doesnt mean they dont have it. It tends to onset at a younger age in males which then for many tapers off as they get older; the inverse is true for females. It often gets worse with age, which doesnt meet the (male centred) diagnostic criteria for tourettes. It doesnt mean less women have it neccessarily, there are also a plethora of other reasons.

If you were actually curious rather than attempting to suggest something else there are many studies.

That would have been believable had posters expressed sympathy for Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo too.

Instead it’s all about ‘poor John’.

I have now thank you.

He's not being abusive though is he? A friend of mine has tourettes and he will literally shout the worst things at the worse time...it's like his brain tells him he mustn't say X and then it comes out at the worst time.

So shouting in airports that he has a bomb, calling the interviewer a cunt in a job interview, being on public transport in a rough part of Chicago on his own and calling some scary looking men cocksuckers.

I mean it really negatively affects his life and causes him no end of problems. I do agree though it would be awful for black people to hear that

There was a documentary I saw on Tourette’s years ago. One man would slap his head hard & stub cigarettes out on himself. Do people think he did that on purpose?

Another man was visually impaired, whilst waiting for traffic he would tell his assistance dog to go when the cars were coming/red man. Again he didn’t really want his dog or himself to get hit by a car.

John Davidson was the subject of a BBC documentary, John's not Mad, in the 1980s, when he was 15, here if anyone is interested: