Dr. Marc Siegel speaks out on John Davidson’s BAFTA Awards gaffe

Dr. Marc Siegel called for compassion and empathy toward John Davidson following the controversy surrounding Davidson’s gaffe at the 79th BAFTA Film Awards. He did this during his latest appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored podcast (a clip of which was shared to X on February 27).

In the clip, Siegel addressed the backlash that followed Davidson’s on-stage incident, urging the public to better understand the mental health risks associated with Tourette syndrome.

“We need to have compassion and empathy for this man. Because you know what? (It is) Four times more likely for people to commit suicide with Tourette’s. You should be ashamed on the panel for not knowing that 50% of Tourette’s adults are thinking of suicide,” he said.

For context, John Davidson, who was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome at 25, has long lived with tics that include involuntary vocal outbursts. His experiences inspired the BAFTA-nominated film I Swear.

At the 79th BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, February 22, Davidson involuntarily shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award of the evening.

The moment led Davidson to face backlash as it was not edited out of the BBC One broadcast, which aired on a two-hour delay, and it remained available on BBC iPlayer until the ceremony was later removed.

Addressing the criticism Davidson faced for his involuntary outburst, Siegel stressed that the public reaction lacked empathy.

He also pointed to what he described as a historical irony in Davidson’s career. Siegel noted that John Davidson’s first BBC film in 1989 was titled John’s Not Mad, underscoring that while Davidson’s vocal tics sounded shocking or uncontrolled, they were not a reflection of his mental state.

“Isn’t it ironic that his (John Davidson’s) very first film in 1989 with BBC was called John’s Not Mad? That’s the point…He’s sounding mad, but he’s not really mad,” he said.

Further explaining how Tourette syndrome worked neurologically, Siegel said that John Davidson’s involuntary outbursts were not deliberate choices.

“We all have those words in our vocabulary. His brain is choosing one that he doesn’t intend to say or is not even thinking,” Siegel added

Expanding his remarks to include others living with Tourette syndrome, Siegel argued that people with the condition deserved “compassion,” “empathy,” and “understanding,” rather than what he characterized as “spewing pseudoscience.”

Piers Morgan defends John Davidson amid the latter’s BAFTA controversy

In the aforementioned video clip, broadcaster Piers Morgan weighed in on the controversy surrounding John Davidson’s outburst at the 79th BAFTA Film Awards, which Davidson later attributed to his Tourette’s syndrome.

The incident sparked significant backlash, with some critics questioning the nature of his remarks and whether they reflected deeper prejudice.

Morgan addressed the reaction head-on, arguing that some figures in Hollywood had unfairly rushed to label Davidson. He suggested that actor Jamie Foxx and some others had implied Davidson “must be a closet racist” because of what he said during the ceremony.

“People like Jamie Foxx seem to have got it into their heads that he must be a closet racist, otherwise he would never say these things,” Morgan added.

Morgan went on to criticize what he described as a broader misunderstanding of Tourette syndrome. He argued that many commentators had failed to grasp how the neurological condition could cause involuntary verbal outbursts, including inappropriate or offensive language.

“It’s such a stupid failure to understand what the condition is. And it comes from people in Hollywood who never stop preaching about the need to, you know, they constantly preach identity politics,” Morgan said.

He further accused members of the entertainment industry of hypocrisy. According to Morgan, Hollywood figures frequently called for empathy and compassion, and “virtue signal about everything left, right and center,” yet failed to extend that same understanding to Davidson during what he described as an intensely difficult period.

Morgan also referenced the newly released film, inspired by Davidson’s life with Tourette’s, and how it centered specifically on the neurological disease. According to Morgan, the film made “crystal clear” the realities of the condition and “what the issues” were.

“And yet none of them appear to have watched it. None of them appear to care. And they’re quite happy to go public and spray gun this guy in a really dark moment for him, where he knows he knows how big a deal this was,” Morgan added

He further noted that John Davidson had been “really suffering” in the aftermath of the incident, based on his public statements.

However, rather than attempting to calm the situation or demonstrate empathy, Morgan concluded that several people in Hollywood had effectively “lined up to kick him” while he was already under immense scrutiny.

As per a Variety report dated February 24, John Davidson sought to make amends following the fallout.

His team confirmed that he had reached out to the studio behind “Sinners” to personally apologize to Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, and production designer Hannah Beachler, signaling an effort to address the situation directly and take responsibility for his actions.