John Davidson, a Tourette syndrome sufferer and activist, was a high-profile guest at the latest BAFTA Film Awards ceremony, which took place on February 22 at the Royal Festival Hall in London. He was in attendance because the film I Swear, based on his life, had been nominated for a number of awards. I Swear had been very well received by critics and was expected to help audiences understand Davidson’s condition, which affects approximately 1 in 1,000 people. Unfortunately, the BBC producers failed to edit or control the audio of Davidson’s vocal outbursts during the ceremony, which included distressing racial slurs while actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were on stage. Davidson has since claimed that he had been placed in the audience close to a live microphone, which seems very ill-advised.
Following the incident, the BBC and Davidson himself have been heavily criticized, the former because of their editorial mistakes, and the latter because some appear to believe that a Tourette’s sufferer has a degree of personal choice and control over their vocalizations. Actor Jamie Foxx commented on social media: “Nah, he meant that shit.”
Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurological condition with a…
