BBC under fire after man with Tourette syndrome yells racist slur at BAFTAs
February 23, 2026 at 06:56 PM
By Mashable
The British broadcaster kept a racial slur on its tape-delayed broadcast, as well as its streaming service, baffling and angering many viewers.
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The British broadcaster kept a racial slur on its tape-delayed broadcast, as well as its streaming service, baffling and angering many viewers The British broadcaster kept a racial slur on its tape-delayed broadcast, as well as its streaming service, baffling and angering many viewers. Monitor developments in BBC for further updates.
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The British broadcaster kept a racial slur on its tape-delayed broadcast, as well as its streaming s
The British broadcaster kept a racial slur on its tape-delayed broadcast, as well as its streaming service, baffling and angering many viewers.
Home > Life > Digital Culture BBC under fire after man with Tourette syndrome yells racist slur at BAFTAs The British broadcaster kept the slur on its tape-delayed broadcast, as well as its streaming service. By Neal Broverman Neal Broverman Enterprise Editor Neal joined Mashable’s Social Good team in 2024, editing and writing stories about digital culture and its effects on the environment and marginalized communities. He is the former editorial director of The Advocate and Out magazines, has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, Curbed, and Los Angeles magazine, and is a recipient of the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for LGBTQ Journalist of the Year Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NLGJA). He lives in Los Angeles with his family. Read Full Bio on February 23, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Flipboard Michael B. Jordan (left) and Delroy Lindo at the BAFTA awards. Credit: Photo by Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA The year’s BAFTAS, the British equivalent of the Oscars, will not be remembered for which movies won, but rather how the BBC handled a shocking moment. During the broadcast, an attendee with Tourette syndrome yelled a racial slur, which could be heard on the tape-delayed broadcast. The first time the N-word was shouted by John Davidson, whose life was the basis for the BAFTA-nominated film I Swear, was at the beginning of the BBC’s broadcast, as Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the first award. Both Jordan and Lindo are Black.For his part, Lindo later told Vanity Fair that no one from the BAFTAs reached out to him after Davidson’s tic was shouted, and that he and Jordan did their best to carry on after hearing the word. You May Also Like Davidson reportedly repeated the slur several times during the show, according to Sinners production designer Hannah Beachler. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Davidson left the ceremony partway through, the BBC reports.BAFTAs host Alan Cumming addressed Davidson’s tics during the event, telling the audience, "Tourette's syndrome is a disability and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you were offended." Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. Loading... Sign Me Up Use this instead By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! However, Cumming’s last sentence left a lot to be desired from many. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Even though the show was broadcast with a two-hour delay, the slur was kept in the BBC’s broadcast and remained on the network’s streaming service, BBC iPlayer, until the entire show was pulled.Representatives from the BBC apologized for the airing and stated the slurs "arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional."Robert Aramayo, the actor who portrayed Davidson in I Swear, told the BBC News after the awards show that, "[Tourette syndrome] is not shouting obscenities, it's not being abusive, it's Tourette's and they're tics." Related Stories BAFTA film winners 2026: See the full list BAFTA film nominations 2026: See the full list Facebook faces boycott push from NAACP, ADL, and other civil rights groups 'Sinners' just smashed an Oscars record How to watch 'Hamnet': See the heart-wrenching Oscar Best Picture nominee at home The National Institute for Health describes the disease as "a neurological disorder that may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics. TS is one of a group of disorders of the developing nervous system called tic disorders."Not all people with Tourette syndrome have verbal tics that are expressed through obscenities or slurs, according to the Tourette Association of America. SEE ALSO: The NAACP is fighting back against AI data centers "Coprolalia, the involuntary use of obscene language, affects approximately 10% of individuals with Tourette Syndrome (TS), though it is frequently exaggerated in media portrayals,” according to the TAA’s website. "Research indicates that coprolalia may be underreported due to stigma, suggesting that it could actually affect a higher percentage of individuals with TS than the commonly cited 10%.”While most attendees of the BAFTAs acknowledged the slurs were unintentional, some expressed frustration at how the ordeal was handled. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Topics Film Health Mental Health Social Good Neal
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