BAFTA Awards Ceremony Disrupted by Involuntary Tourette's Outbursts
The 2026 BAFTA Awards ceremony was marked by multiple disruptive incidents involving involuntary outbursts from a Tourette syndrome advocate, with actor Delroy Lindo now revealing that awards show organizers have failed to reach out to him and co-star Michael B. Jordan following the troubling events.
Ceremony Interrupted by Racial Slur During Presentation
According to multiple reports, John Davidson—the inspiration for the BAFTA-nominated biopic "I Swear"—disrupted Sunday's ceremony with several involuntary outbursts of expletives and slurs, symptoms of his nervous system disorder. The most jarring incident occurred while Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan were onstage presenting the award for Best Visual Effects, when audiences could clearly hear someone shouting the N-word.
Additional disruptions included the words "shut the fuck up" ringing out during a speech from BAFTA Chair Sara Putt and a "fuck you" disrupting the acceptance speech for Best Children's and Family Film award winners.
Host's Explanation and Lindo's Disappointment
Host Alan Cumming addressed the interruptions during the ceremony, explaining to attendees: "Tourette's syndrome is a disability, and the tics you've heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette's syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight."
However, according to Lindo, this public apology wasn't followed by any direct communication from BAFTA officials to the affected actors. While speaking to Vanity Fair at a Warner Bros. afterparty, the Oscar nominee said he and Jordan "did what we had to do" during the presentation but expressed disappointment that "someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards."
Broadcast Controversies and Additional Incidents
BAFTA officials did issue apologies to people who heard the slur during the BBC One broadcast of the event, which aired two hours after the live ceremony. Notably, the broadcast did not censor or edit out the moment when the racial slur was shouted. However, according to Deadline, the broadcast did omit director Akinola Davies Jr.'s call to "Free Palestine" during his speech for outstanding British debut.
The situation extended beyond the ceremony itself. In an X post, "Sinners" production designer Hannah Beachler revealed that Davidson's outburst during the Best Visual Effects presentation was one of three instances where she heard the N-word that evening.
"I keep trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs, and I can't find the words," Beachler wrote. "The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show."
Beachler went on to describe a third incident directed at a Black woman, acknowledging the complexity of the situation while criticizing what she called "the throw-away apology of 'if you were offended' at the end of the show."
"Of course, we were offended ... but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened," she continued. "I am not steel; this did not bounce off of me, but I exist above it. It can't take away from who I am as an artist."
The incidents have sparked conversations about how awards shows handle unexpected disruptions, particularly those involving medical conditions, while also addressing the impact on affected individuals who deserve direct communication and support following traumatic experiences.
