Baftas 2026: BBC apologises for racial slur shouted during Bafta Awards ceremony
The BBC has officially apologised for the “strong and offensive language” shouted during the taping of the 2026 Baftas ceremony.
During the Sunday event, the ‘N-word’ was shouted while Black actors and Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award at the 79th annual Baftas show, eventually handing ‘Best Visual Effects’ to Avatar: Fire and Ash.
The racial slur was shouted by John Davidson, who suffers from Tourette’s syndrome and inspired the I Swear biopic starring Robert Aramayo, and personally featured in 1989’s John’s Not Mad documentary as part of the BBC’s QED series.
While appearing to miss a beat during their introductory speech, Jordan and Lido carried on hosting the award segment, with Variety reporting that Davidson left London’s Royal Festival Hall on his own volition shortly after. Reportedly, Davidson had shouted “shut the fuck up” and “boring” when Bafta chair Sarah Putt delivered a speech prior.
According to NBC News, neither representatives for the Baftas, nor Jordan and Lindo, responded to requests for comment, and neither representatives for Versant, the owner of E!, who were handling the ceremony’s US coverage.
A spokesperson for the BBC explained the context of the racial slur, attributing the incident to the involuntary outbursts typical of the symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome, which the NHS defines as “a condition that causes you to make sudden, repetitive sounds or movements (tics).”
“Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the Bafta Film Awards 2026,” the BBC spokesperson stated in an email statement to NBC News. “This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional. We apologise for any offence caused by the language heard.”
Later during the evening, actor Alan Cumming made clear that such language was unintentional and thanked the attendees for their “understanding”.
“You may have heard some strong and offensive language tonight,” Cummings told the audience. “If you have seen the film I Swear, you will know that film is about the experience of a person with Tourette’s syndrome. Tourette syndrome is a disability, and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you were offended.”
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