Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

Tourette Patient's N-Word Outburst Sparks BAFTA Controversy

4/27/2026

28 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

John Davidson Slur

John Davidson, a Tourette sufferer, shouted the N-word at the February BAFTA ceremony, the slur then airing after a delay.
Warner Bros. and BAFTA tried to edit the slur, the live feed capturing Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo reacting with frustration.
Kirk Jones’s film “I Swear,” starring Robert Aramayo, depicts Davidson’s story to show coprolalia affecting 10 % of Tourette cases, and notes his shame while commentators called it ableist.

Summary

John Davidson Stigmatized

The film shows John Davidson’s mother forcing him to eat away from the family table to hide his tics.
His father, frustrated by the condition, leaves the home permanently.
A school headmaster restrains John and warns that the outside world will be less sympathetic.
Critics say the movie repeatedly pits his tics against others, limiting narrative variety and offering only a binary shock-or-acceptance response.

Summary

Aramayo Wins

Robert Aramayo, 33, won the BAFTA Best Actor award for the film “I Swear.”
He grew up in Kingston upon Hull, began in youth theatre, and studied at Juilliard starting in 2011.
Before filming, he spent extensive time with John Davidson learning that coprolalia is involuntary.
He hopes viewers will Google “What is Tourette’s?” after seeing the film.
The Tourette Association of America provides information at tourette.org.

1 of 3

John Davidson Slur

John Davidson, a Tourette sufferer, shouted the N-word at the February BAFTA ceremony, the slur then airing after a delay.
Warner Bros. and BAFTA tried to edit the slur, the live feed capturing Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo reacting with frustration.
Kirk Jones’s film “I Swear,” starring Robert Aramayo, depicts Davidson’s story to show coprolalia affecting 10 % of Tourette cases, and notes his shame while commentators called it ableist.

1 / 3