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

If Free Palestine is offensive enough to cut why not the worst swear word/slur I can think of?

The incident has perpetuated hate in comment sections on Instagram, TikTok etc. I’ve seen many vile comments like “he’s only saying what we all think”. And it’s not isolated. Many many disgusting comments

He didn't choose the word.

HTH

Oh honestly grow up. It's a word, it's offensive if it's used as a slur, which in this case it was not. What matters is context and intent. That word is used constantly in america in music, and black americans often use it to refer to each other, because in those cases it isn't seen as offensive due to the context and the intent. The word itself does not have magic powers. Adults should be able to understand that the man did not in any way mean to offend anyone, and therefore shouldn't take offense. I do agree that the bbc should have edited it out though.

It should be blatantly obvious on a thread about Tourette's that this would be because one was deliberate and one wasn't.

One was due to a disability (which was the whole point of the film) and one wasn't.

I find your responses a bit baffling when you've apparently seen the film. I'd have assumed it explained the condition and how hard it is to control?

https://tourette.org/resource/understanding-coprolalia/

Agree. Wondering if people with Tourette’s are more likely to shout intrusive thoughts, which are ego dystonic. That means that they don’t concord with their own values at all. He really couldn’t help it and it was probably his worst nightmare to shout out something like this.

Be good to see if there’s a psych on here with Tourette’s as a specialism x

There's no easy answer to this one. It's much more nuanced than reasonable or unreasonable.

I don't understand the debate on this - this is what Tourettes is. This is the nature of the disability. There is no debate to be had, it is involuntary and I'm sure John Davidson has spent half his life feeling mortified by things like this.

Obviously what was said was highly inappropriate and hurtful towards the presenters, I don't think that is in question at all, but I feel like anybody 'debating' this really fundamentally doesn't understand the nature of Tourettes at all.

Had he been a severely autistic person producing loud vocal stims throughout the ceremony nobody would place any blame on him as we would all know and willingly accept it's his disability. It's the same thing.

Exactly. So baffling as to why people can’t understand this. The ignorance about Tourette’s and the ‘but why say THAT word’ is equally baffling when there’s an abundance of info on the internet.

You must be aware that words said during tics are often very inappropriate. These words are not ‘chosen’.
Anyone offended by anything said during a tic attack simply just doesn’t understand how Tourette’s works.

Yes it did. But I just can't quite get my head round aspects of it.

Yep. It's a great film. The whole point is its not just random words, it's a compulsion to blurt out the most awful and inappropriate thing in that particular situation. It reminded me of that feeling of worrying you're going to drop your purse or phone off a bridge- except its a compulsion not just a worry.

Edited to add: that doesn't mean you shouldn't be upset hearing it, obviously. But know that that the fact he's saying it is proof that HE knows its an awful thing to say. He doesn't think it's funny or no big deal. He literally cannot not do it.

Don't invite the disabled guy in case his disability upsets someone?

Can you hear yourself.

It is absolutely bullshit.

It would be interesting to see how many commenters have been subjected to racial slurs. I see as much of an ignorance of race as an ignorance of Tourettes.

He should not have been invited on top of he should not leave the house

What next?

I’m not saying JD should apologise. But I don’t think the impact of Michael and Delroy hearing that word and how it makes them feel is being acknowledged enough. That should also be a part of the discourse. They had the N word shouted at them at the end of the day. Thats just horrible. Involuntarily or otherwise

The fact you put the words 'cannot help it' in speech marks, shows exactly how ableist you are.

There is no confliction. Both statements are true - It’s horrible for the actors, and it’s horrible for John Davidson. This is not an either/or.

Why are we all suddenly acting like the N word is no big deal? And that the black actors shouldn’t be affected at all

Yes, let's bring back asylums instead of educating people.

Keep those pesky disabled folk out of sight.

I think this is a complex issue. I absolutely understand that this is involuntary and so no offence/insult was intended. However, the sight of two black actors standing in front of an audience and having the n word shouted at them a complete disgrace. I agree that it is something that is very difficult for people who are not of colour to understand. Also found Alan Cumming’s apology - which was no doubt written for him - v uncomfortable to watch.

The fact that this was not edited out to prevent further embarrassment and discomfort for all concerned is the real disgrace here. The BBC is a shambolic and tone deaf joke.

The film nominated was a film about his life. Why shouldn’t he be there?
Why should this man be left at home because of his disability?