Hannah Beachler, the Academy Award-winning production designer for “Sinners,” said she understands that a racial epithet, shouted by Tourette Syndrome activist John Davidson at the BAFTA film awards Sunday, was involuntary but she said the outburst created “an almost impossible” situation for everyone involved.
Beachler said on X that the “throw-away apology,” issued by the show’s host Alan Cumming near the end of the show, also “made the situation worse.”
Indeed, it did. The apology, regarded as too little too late, certainly made things worse for Oakland actor Delroy Lindo and his “Sinners” co-star Michael B Jordan, who were onstage at the ceremony when Davidson loudly shouted a racial slur as they presented the award for best visual effects.
Finally on Monday, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts acknowledged that its handling of the situation also made things worse for Davidson, who has dedicated his life to campaigning for a better public understanding of his condition, which robs him of any control over his involuntary verbal tics and outbursts.
In a statement, the academy issued an “unreserved” apology to Lindo, Jordan and to everyone else in the room who heard a “profoundly offensive” term, which “carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many.” But most of all, the academy said it took “full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologize to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy.”
Following Davidson’s outburst, Beachler was among the Black artists, along with actors Jamie Foxx and Wendell Pierce, who expressed dissatisfaction, hurt and anger at the way the British Academy and the BBC addressed Davidson’s outburst on Sunday night. Their comments were part of a larger online discussion about the nature of Tourette Syndrome, an often misunderstood neurological condition, and how the institutions overseeing seeing this awards ceremony failed both the person with the disability and the people who were hurt by his unintentional acts.
Davidson was at the ceremony to support the critically acclaimed film “I Swear,” which is inspired by the kind of hostility he’s faced much of his life in response to the symptoms of his neurological disorder. Tourette Syndrome is characterized by sudden, involuntary and repetitive movements or sounds, known as tics, according to the Tourette Association of America. About 10%-20% of people with the condition also have what’s known as coprolalia, which manifests in people involuntarily uttering profanity, ethnic slurs and other socially unacceptable words or phrases.
During the show, Davidson shouted profanity multiple times, including one directed at BAFTA chair Sara Putt, during her introduction to the ceremony, The Hollywood Reporter said. He then shouted out the racial slur during Lindo and Jordan’s speech as they presented the visual effects award to “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Davidson reportedly exited the room soon thereafter and watched the rest of the ceremony elsewhere.
During the show, host Alan Cumming made several announcements explaining Davidson’s condition, saying, “Tourette Syndrome is a disability, and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.”
But that apology didn’t sit well for Beachler and others. She said on X, “I know we must handle this with grace and continue to push through. But what made the situation worse was the throw away apology of ‘if you were offended’ at the end of the show.”
Actor Jamie Foxx went so far as to express skepticism that Davidson’s outburst was entirely involuntary, saying it was unacceptable and suggesting that the activist meant what he said. People online pushed back at this suggestion, saying that Foxx had a misunderstanding of the syndrome. But others questioned why Davidson was allowed to attend the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
Actor Wendell Pierce focused on the failure of the BAFTAs to immediately respond to those who were hurt. He said on X, “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throated apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur.”
On social media, journalist Jemele Hill addressed the historical impact of racism and what Black people have had to endure for centuries. “Black people are just supposed to be ok with being disrespected and dehumanized so that other people don’t feel bad,” she said.
On Facebook, Jocelyn Thompson, a stage manager at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, said she understands Tourette Syndrome and how these tics are involuntary. But she said she heard that no one from BAFTA checked in on either Lindo or Jordan after the outburst. Thompson echoed Hill, saying, “[That] tells me that y’all have no idea or you don’t even care how impactful, how hurtful, how harmful this word is to the black body. This word was shouted out in crowds at black bodies as they were being lynched.”
Lindo later confirmed to Vanity Fair at the Warner Bros. afterparty that no one checked in with either him or Jordan after the incident, The Hollywood Reporter said. He said he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us,” while saying that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while they presented the award.
While acknowledging the real harm caused by Davidson’s words, advocates for people with Tourette Syndrome shared the many reasons that he also deserves compassion.
One person in the U.K., responding to Hill and Beachler, said his son has Tourette Syndrome and always experiences “dread and shame because he knows the words hurt people, and he would never choose to hurt anyone.” That person also said his son’s outbursts never reflect is true beliefs: “He lives in fear of his own brain betraying him in public. He has been physically assaulted because of it.
“It is not the role of disabled people to protect others from symptoms they cannot control,” this person continued. “And with a platform of over a million followers, it’s important to understand the difference between deliberate hate and involuntary disability.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the consensus of the night seemed to be that both Black attendees and the Tourette’s community were failed by the handling of this situation. The BBC also was faulted because it chose not to cut Davidson’s swearing and racial slur, despite the show being aired on a two-hour delay.
The BBC later issued an apology, acknowledging that viewers “may have heard strong and offensive language,” the Hollywood Reporter said. “We apologize that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer,” the BBC added.
“I Swear,” the film based on Davdison’s life, went onto win a number of awards during the evening, including one for actor Robert Aramayo, who beat out Jordan as well as frontrunners Timothee Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio, to win the best leading man award. In the film, Aramayo plays Davidson, who was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at the age of 25.
Aramayo used the first of his two speeches that night to bring awareness to the condition and to Davidson’s strength and integrity as a person. While picking up an earlier prize, the Rising Star Award, Aramayo told the crowd, “John Davidson is the most remarkable man I ever met. He’s so forthcoming with educatio,n and he believes there should be still so much more we need to learn about Tourette’s.
“Tonight especially, for people living with Tourette’s, it’s us around them who help them define what their experience is,” Aramayo said. “So, to quote the film, they need support and understanding.”
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