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Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson, who found himself at the centre of a Bafta crisis due to a racial outburst, is going to watch the Bafta Scotland awards from a separate area.
Davidson attended the February ceremony after I Swear, a biopic about his life, received multiple nominations. During the ceremony, he shouted a racial slur while Sinners actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award. The slur was then included as part of the BBC’s broadcast despite being pre-recorded hours earlier.
Bafta chair Sara Putt and CEO Jane Millichip addressed the subject in a letter sent to Bafta members ahead of Bafta Scotland, where I Swear has received seven nominations.
The letter said that the organisation had arranged a more “relaxed” area for Davidson after consulting with “safeguarding and inclusion experts” as well as Davidson himself.
He will “watch the ceremony via video link from a separate space within the venue with his family and friends”.
In February, Davidson’s outburst sparked widespread debate. The campaigner suffers from coprolalia, a type of Tourette’s that involves involuntary swearing and/or making socially inappropriate remarks, and he claimed he was told that any offensive involuntary tics would be cut from the broadcast. He said he was “deeply mortified” by the incident.
Ahead of the Baftas, guests were informed by host Alan Cumming that disturbances might occur due to Davidson’s involuntary tics. Later in the ceremony, after Davidson shouted the slur, Cumming briefly paused proceedings to apologise and thank the audience for their understanding.
Davidson chose to leave the auditorium shortly after realising that Lindo and Jordan had heard his tic from the stage, and he later noted that he involuntarily made several offensive remarks that were not only racial.
Following the event, a BBC spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the Bafta Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony, it was not intentional.
“We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it has been removed from BBC iPlayer.”
In an internal memo, BBC staff were also told that the slur had aired “in error” as producers had not heard the word, and that another had been cut from the broadcast.
Bafta also apologised to Davidson, Jordan and Lindo, and took “full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation”.
I Swear took home Bafta Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (won by Aramayo), Best Casting and EE Rising Star (also for Aramayo).
The film has received eight nominations ahead of the Bafta Scotland Awards in November: Best Actor in a Film (Peter Mullan, Robert Aramayo and Scott Ellis Watson), Best Actress in a Film (Shirley Henderson), Favourite Scot on Screen (Peter Mullan), Best Director (Kirk Jones), Best Feature Film and Best Writer Film/Television (Jones).
