Scottish actor Alan Cumming broke his silence on Tuesday over last month’s British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) ceremony controversy, calling the February 22 event a trauma-triggering disaster in a statement posted to Instagram more than a week after the incident.
Cumming, who hosted the 79th BAFTA Film Awards, apologised to Black audiences worldwide and to the Tourette Syndrome (TS) community, saying both groups had been hurt by the fallout. He criticised what he described as the world’s lack of understanding and tolerance about the neurological condition and called on the public to recognise that all trauma must be acknowledged and honoured.
Tourette Syndrome campaigner John Davidson had involuntarily shouted a racial slur from the audience as actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took to the stage to present an award. Davidson had attended the ceremony to celebrate the film “I Swear,” which depicts his life story.
The offensive outburst was broadcast without censorship. It later emerged that other tics from Davidson during the ceremony had been edited out by producers. BAFTA had allegedly warned the BBC about potentially offensive language ahead of transmission, and the corporation later admitted that failing to remove the slur was a serious mistake.
Cumming directed criticism at both BAFTA and the BBC over their editorial decisions, saying those choices both broadcast slurs and censored free speech. The remarks appeared to reference separate reports that filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.’s “Free Palestine” speech had been removed from the broadcast while the slur remained.
Lindo later revealed that neither he nor Jordan received a personal apology following the incident. A BAFTA judge resigned in protest, while Saturday Night Live faced backlash for airing a sketch about the incident that a Tourette Syndrome advocacy group condemned as unacceptable.
BAFTA took full responsibility for putting the two Black presenters in a very difficult situation and said in a second apology it would learn from the incident.
Davidson said he was grateful to Cumming for addressing the moment live during the show, adding that the applause that followed made him feel welcomed and understood in what is normally a challenging environment for him.
