The British Academy Films Awards (BAFTA) had their awards show on February 22. What should have been a night of celebration of acting excellence turned into a night where controversy reared its head. Actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan (who are Black) were on stage together presenting an award for visual effects. While the two “Sinners” stars were on stage, a voice could be heard off camera yelling out a racial slur against black people. The source of this outburst was John Davidson, a White man that has Tourette’s Syndrome and was the real life inspiration behind the film “I Swear” that chronicles his life with Tourette’s Syndrome.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website, Tourette’s Syndrome is defined as “a neurological disorder that may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics.” Tourette’s Syndrome should not be minimized in any shape or form. In short, grace and understanding should be given towards those afflicted with this order. That said, it’s not coincidental that Davidson yelled out offensive language during a quiet moment in the program when two black actors were on stage presenting an award. Davidson’s offensive language was heard loud and clear, and was not edited out of the original BAFTA broadcast despite the program airing on a 30 second delay. That would have given censors plenty of time to edit the slur out of the broadcast. Nevertheless, the language was kept in the broadcast.
The next day, BAFTA released a lengthy apology for Davidson’s outburst that explained Davidson’s devotion towards Tourette’s Syndrome education. The statement also apologized directly to Lindo and Jordan while praising the two actors’ professionalism in not responding to Davidson’s outburst.
BAFTA’s apology rings extremely hollow. While people with Tourette’s Syndrome should be afforded understanding, any outburst that goes against accepted social norms needs to be held accountable. If Davidson had yelled out slurs or messages that were anti Semitic, would he have been afforded the same grace? If any person with Tourette’s Syndrome yelled out something that was illegal, vulgar, or immoral on stage, would they be afforded the same grace? The question here would be what would constitute illegal, vulgar, or immoral enough for BAFTA to edit out of the broadcast.
That question would be answered during another part of the broadcast. Filmmakers Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jr. won the BAFTA award for outstanding British debut for their film “My Father’s Shadow”. Davies Jr’s acceptance speech focused on dedicating his award to “all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children”. Another part of Davies Jr’s speech contained his desire to free Palestine. That part of his speech was edited from the broadcast. That curious edit suggests that BAFTA draws the line at speeches containing political messages that remain a polarizing topic for many.
Despite apologies from BAFTA and Davidson himself, there will be no real repercussions from Davidson’s outburst. He will continue to live his life while the BAFTA awards will continue next year without fail. This outburst teaches a valuable lesson: when someone shows you who they really are and what accountability they exert during times of polarization, believe them.
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