Why do some people with Tourette’s shout racial slurs – and does it mean they’re racist? Experts weight in amid BAFTAs ‘N-word’ backlash

Leading experts have condemned the backlash against a Tourette campaigner who was heard yelling racial slurs from audience members at BAFTA.

John Davidson, whose life inspired the movie I Swear, was heard shouting the “N-word” as actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the first award of the night at London’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday.

Presenter Alan Cumming thanked viewers for their understanding after Mr Davidson, who has Tourette’s syndrome, repeatedly produced involuntary vocal tics.

But the incident sparked outrage online, including from Hollywood figures.

Jamie Foxx commented under a post about the moment: ‘Unacceptable’ and ‘No, he didn’t mean it.’

Actor Wendell Pierce added: ‘It is very frustrating that the initial response was incomplete and that we have to offer full-throated apologies to Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan.

‘The insult to them takes priority. ‘The reason for the racial slur doesn’t matter.’

Now neurologists and Tourette’s advocates say the public outcry ignores the involuntary nature of the condition.

Professor Sophie Scott, Director of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, said: ‘This is not intentional and despite what people say in response, people with Tourette’s are not trying to shock.

‘In people with the syndrome, the tic occurs in the same way as the sensation of sneezing. You can’t stop this; This is involuntary.’

He added: ‘If you’re in the audience your first thought wouldn’t be ‘That’s someone with Tourette’s’ and that can be jarring. But it’s really important for people to show empathy in response.’

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that affects around 300,000 people in the UK, according to the charity Tourettes Action. It causes sudden sounds or movements, known as tics, that patients have no control over.

The condition is believed to be linked to excessive activity in brain circuits involved in movement and speech.

‘The reality is that we don’t know the exact pathways that cause Tourette’s disease,’ Professor Scott said. ‘But we believe this is an overactivity of the pathways.’

Tourette syndrome is about four times more common in boys than girls and usually begins around the age of seven. Research shows that about 60 percent of children outgrow it, but in others the disease may remain severe into adulthood.

Although this condition is often associated with involuntary swearing known as coprolalia, fewer than 10 percent of people with Tourette’s experience this symptom.

BAFTA presenter Alan Cumming thanked viewers for their understanding after John shouted involuntarily during the ceremony

‘People with Tourette’s do not inadvertently start reading Shakespeare,’ Professor Scott said. ‘The brain is naturally drawn to taboo or shocking words.’

He explained that these words are part of ‘automatic speech’ produced in the emotional areas of the brain.

‘People can’t control the reaction. We see this in speech conditions, including aphasia, where people are recorded as non-verbal other than swearing.’

Professor Scott said the specific words used could change over time depending on social norms.

‘People with Tourette’s are aware of words that will trigger an emotional response, so this particular insult was unlikely to have been a tic decades ago, when it was more socially acceptable,’ he said.

‘Your brain collects emotionally charged fragments of speech that you cannot control when you have Tourette’s.’

Experts say this can have devastating consequences for mental health.

A study published last week in the British Medical Journal found that 58 percent of 600 people with Tourette’s had self-harmed in their lifetime, 43 percent had considered suicide in the past year, and 27 percent had attempted suicide at least once.

Broadcaster Aidy Smith, who has Tourette’s, said: ‘I became one of those statistics.

‘That’s why it’s so important in moments like these that we act with compassion and try to see the world through another person’s eyes.’

He added: ‘For those wondering why John said this; Watch his movie, see his journey, and witness what his Tourette’s really is. Education and awareness are everything.’

‘As a Tourette advocate, it is important for me to say that I fully understand how hearing such words without context can cause hurt in communities. These feelings are completely valid.

‘But people with Tourette’s disease and coprolalia can coexist with the knowledge that they have absolutely no malicious or harmful intentions.’

Following the incident, Tourettes Action said it was ‘incredibly proud’ of Mr Davidson and those involved in the I Swear programme, which chronicles his life after developing the condition at the age of 12.

A spokesman said: ‘We deeply understand that these words can cause pain, but it is vital that the public understands a basic fact about Tourette syndrome; Tics are involuntary.

‘They are not a reflection of a person’s beliefs, intentions or character.’

After receiving harsh language and involuntary yelling from John, Alan continued to raise awareness of the condition (John is pictured with the mother of his friend Dottie Achenbach, who helped raise him)

The charity said the response was ‘deeply distressing’ and confirmed Mr Davidson left the service early.

To him, the reaction must have been painfully familiar.

Mr. Davidson first became the public face of Tourette’s at age 16; This condition, barely understood at the time, caused him to shake uncontrollably, shout and swear in public. His struggles were documented in the 1989 BBC film John’s Not Mad, which followed him through his hometown of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders.

Davidson, now 54, has been campaigning for decades to explain a condition that affects one in 100 school-age children in the UK.

His life inspired the movie I Swear, which tells the story of the isolation, misunderstanding, and resilience that comes with severe Tourette’s disease.

Even moments of honor are overshadowed by involuntary tics. When Davidson received an MBE at Holyrood Palace in 2019, his anxiety symptoms intensified and he involuntarily shouted ‘Fuck the Queen’.

Embarrassed, he later asked Queen Elizabeth II. He said he was informed of Elizabeth’s condition and was assured that it was understood.

‘His Majesty was very kind,’ he recalled. ‘She was as calm and confident as my grandmother. “He was very good at it.”

Speaking on Times Radio, Ed Palmer, deputy chief executive of Tourettes Action, said broadcasters should consider using unprompted insults in pre-recorded programmes.

‘This is one of the starkest examples of how a disability can understandably lead to major crime,’ he said.

‘If it’s being pre-recorded, beeping might be a reasonable compromise; but this needs to be handled on a case-by-case basis.’

A BBC spokesman said: ‘We apologize that this was not edited before publication and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.’