Tourette’s Campaigner Questions Why Baftas Organisers Sat Him Next To Microphone

Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson has admitted the way that things played out at this year’s Baftas left him with some questions.

John attended Sunday’s ceremony alongside the cast and crew of I Swear, the award-winning film based on his life story.

He has since said he experienced as many as 10 involuntary tics during the ceremony, resulting in him shouting several offensive terms, including the N-word while Sinners actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage.

In his first interview since the Baftas, John claimed that he “made the decision to leave” early to avoid causing “upset” with any further tics.

“As I reflect on the auditorium, I remember there was a microphone just in front of me,” he explained. “And with hindsight I have to question whether this was wise, so close to where I was seated, knowing I would tic.”

HuffPost UK has contacted Bafta for comment.

Since the ceremony, Delroy Lindo has admitted he was disappointed with the way Bafta handled the incident, with the awards body having since issued an apology to both the Oscar nominee and his co-star Michael B Jordan, accepting “full responsibility” for what transpired.

A Bafta rep told HuffPost UK: “At the Bafta Film Awards last night our guests heard very offensive language that carries incomparable trauma and pain for so many. We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all.

“One of our guests, John Davidson MBE, has Tourette Syndrome and has devoted his life to educating and campaigning for better understanding of this condition. Tourette Syndrome causes involuntary verbal tics, that the individual has no control over.

“Such tics are in no way a reflection of an individual’s beliefs and are not intentional. John Davidson is an executive producer of the Bafta-nominated film, I Swear, which is based on his life experience.”

“We take the duty of care to all our guests very seriously and start from a position of inclusion,” the statement continued. “We took measures to make those in attendance aware of the tics, announcing to the audience before the ceremony began, and throughout, that John was in the room and that they may hear strong language, involuntary noises or movements during the ceremony.

“Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room. Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.

“During the ceremony, John chose to leave the auditorium and watch the rest of the ceremony from a screen, and we would like to thank him for his dignity and consideration of others, on what should have been a night of celebration for him.

“We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy.”

Elsewhere in Variety’s piece, John’s team made it clear that he has already reached out to the production company behind Sinners in order to apologise “directly” to Michael and Delroy, as well as production designer Hannah Beachler, who shared after the event that he had used the same slur while experiencing an involuntary tic in her presence.