Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
The BBC apologized Sunday for the “strong and offensive language” at the British Academy Film Awards after a series of audible outbursts from an attendee with Tourette syndrome, including a racial slur yelled while Michael B.
Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage, were not cut from the final broadcast. Jordan and Lindo, the stars of “Sinners,” were presenting the best visual effects award at the 79th annual awards show when a Tourette’s campaigner, John Davidson, could be heard shouting. The actors, who are Black, appeared to pause for a beat after a racial slur was yelled, before they continued their presentation of the first award of the night at the London award show aired on the BBC. Variety, which was in the room at London’s Royal Festival Hall as the show was being recorded, and other outlets identified Davidson, who is the inspiration for the nominated film “I Swear.” The film follows the story of his Tourette syndrome diagnosis at the age of 25, his struggles and his journey to raise public awareness. The title is a nod to his uncontrollable swearing, a symptom of the syndrome. The outlet also reported that during the show, someone also shouted “shut the f--- up” as BAFTA chair Sara Putt gave an introductory speech and “f--- you” when the award for best children’s and family film was being accepted. NBC News was unable to independently confirm whether Davidson was the individual who made the audible comments. A BBC spokesperson identified the source of the outbursts only as an attendee with Tourette syndrome in a statement to NBC News. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines the syndrome as “a condition of the nervous system that causes people to make sudden and repeated twitches, movements, or sounds, called ‘tics.’” “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards 2026,” the BBC spokesperson said. “This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard.” Representatives for the BAFTAs, Jordan and Lindo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Versant, which owns E!, did not immediately respond to inquiries before and after its telecast about the slur. The incident has sparked outrage in the film community and online over BAFTA and the BBC’s decision not to cut the racial slur and swearing from broadcast, despite the show airing with a two-hour delay. The show’s host, Alan Cumming, acknowledged the “strong and offensive language” several times and thanked the audience for their understanding. “You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming said. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.” Later in the show, Cumming added: “If you have seen the film ‘I Swear,’ you will know that film is about the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome. 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 were offended.” The outbursts have spurred responses from several A-listers, including actor Jamie Foxx, who commented “unacceptable” in a post about the incident on Instagram. Hannah Beachler, the production designer for “Sinners,” who was at the awards ceremony, went online to criticize Cumming’s apology and said she also experienced Davidson’s involuntary slurs. In a post on X, she called the situation “almost impossible” and noted that the outbursts happened three times, “one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show.” “And a third time at a Black woman,” she wrote in a post on X. “I understand and deeply know why this is an impossible situation. 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.” Beachler added: “Of course we were offended…but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened. 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 film “I Swear”, which received critical acclaim in the U.K. — with Robert Aramayo snagging a win in the best actor category Sunday — is not set to open in U.S. theaters until spring. Sony Pictures Classics, which picked up the distribution rights, says on its website that the movie will roll out on April 24. The film’s director, Kirk Jones, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Sony Pictures Classic and Bankside Films, which distributed the movie in the U.K., also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. NBC News did not immediately hear back from a message sent to Davidson’s personal Instagram account. This year’s BAFTAs also marked a historic moment for “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler, who became the first Black man to win best original screenplay. The vampire thriller won three awards in all. “Asking for more grace for the person who shouted a racist slur instead of for Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, who had to push through being embarrassed in front of their peers,” journalist Jemele Hill wrote in a post on X about Sunday’s show. “But that’s often the expectation — that Black people are just supposed to be ok with being disrespected and dehumanized so that other people don’t feel bad.” In response to Hill’s post, actor Wendell Pierce added: “It’s infuriating that the first reaction wasn’t complete and full throatted apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan. The insult to them takes priority. It doesn’t matter the reasoning for the racist slur.” This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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