Sunday, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts held its annual ceremony, and John Davidson, a Tourette syndrome campaigner, yelled out a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the award for best visual effects.
To watch the scene play out was shocking. In the video floating around online, both Jordan and Lindo pause before proceeding with the presentation.
The resulting backlash and outrage online was emotionally charged, dismissive and in some cases, devolved into incredibly ignorant and ableist back-and-forth. Simultaneously, people are being incredibly racist and dismissive of the offense taken by Black audiences, treating us like we don’t understand other marginalized experiences. All of the discourse could have been avoided if the BAFTAs had edited the show properly.
Seeing that on my timeline was incredibly nauseating, and the “conversation” happening online quickly became inflammatory. Some people made ignorant, morally charged takes about Davidson, making it apparent they don’t understand how Tourette syndrome or coprolalia work.
Shay Amamiya, a popular Black TikTok creator who spreads awareness about Tourette syndrome, explained Davidson’s tics are involuntary and she herself has offensive tics, including slurs. She also explained incidents like those are a result of “neurons misfiring” and it's uncontrollable.
Jhónelle Bean, another Black creator on TikTok with Tourette syndrome, also said Davidson doesn’t have to have the racial slur in his vocabulary for it to be a tic. People with coprolalia know social norms and expectations, and their brains can trigger them into saying the worst things in a given situation.
The Tourette Association of America explains coprolalia as, “...the words that may be expressed in coprolalia are often distressing to an individual, and not indicative of their personal convictions (such as in the context of racial slurs). In many individuals, coprolalia is not able to be controlled.”
To that, I think the framing of this conversation being painted as Black people versus the disabled community, or particularly the Tourette syndrome community, is extremely dismissive and also contributes to the erasure of Black people with disabilities like Tourette syndrome.
It's frustrating to watch Jordan and Lindo be called a slur on television during a night of achievement, recognition and celebration. Especially given how much the film “Sinners,” a film the two acted in, was downplayed by certain media outlets. “Sinners” was at the center of a lot of racial discourse and was counted out very early in its release, but proved to be a massive achievement for director Ryan Coogler and the cast.
Many Black fans of the movie rallied behind it and feel attached to the accolades it's received. In fact, the film became the most decorated movie by a Black director at the BAFTAs, an incredible achievement, especially given the timeliness of Black History Month.
Given this, the frustration around finally watching your people succeed, and having the moment overshadowed by something as textbook as being called a racial slur, is deflating. That being said, Davidson didn’t try to ruin the moment or wait specifically for Jordan and Lindo to present, to have a tic attack. It's not controllable.
If anybody in this situation deserves to bear blame, it's the BAFTAs. This wasn’t a live event, meaning there was time to edit the slur out of the presentation, and they didn’t. I don’t believe it's because they simply forgot either; I believe it's because they didn’t care.
However, the BAFTAs did care enough to censor Akinola Davies Jr. for saying “Free Palestine.” He said it while speaking about parents who migrated to give their children a better life and survive persecution, conflict and economic struggle.
The BAFTAs had an issue with that, but not an issue with one of the most well-known slurs of all time. The BBC’s original apology was quick, unsatisfactory and insincere. It didn’t even send a representative to apologize to Lindo or Jordan.
The BAFTAs compromised the integrity and esteem of both Black people and individuals with Tourette syndrome. Editing this unfortunate moment could have saved everyone from having to endure some of the most racist, ableist and ignorant discourse of all time. I feel the worst for Black people who have Tourette syndrome. Per usual, the perspectives of Black people with disabilities were sidelined and suppressed in major incidents like these.
Inclusivity is making the appropriate adjustments for the groups you’re trying to include. These institutions want to be so “inclusive” and make money off of marginalized people, then proceed to leave them to fend for themselves.
Dawnelle Blake is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Dawnelle about their column? Email them at db948724@ohio.edu.
