John Davidson Says BAFTA Promised Any Swearing Would be Edited Out of Broadcast

"BAFTA had made us all aware that any swearing would be edited out of the broadcast, which, despite the show being on a two-hour delay, was obviously not the case. I have made four documentaries with the BBC in the past, and feel that they should have been aware of what to expect from Tourette's and worked harder to prevent anything that I said from being included in the broadcast."

"I had an expectation that the BBC would physically control the sound at the awards on Sunday. If his tics could not be controlled, the sound of them could be. That the broadcast edited out other content suggests selective editing choices were made regarding what reached viewers."

During the BAFTA awards on February 22, activist and Tourette's advocate John Davidson shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage. BAFTA issued an apology accepting responsibility for the incident. However, Davidson revealed in an interview with Variety that BAFTA had informed attendees swearing would be edited out, yet the broadcast on a two-hour delay included his outburst. Davidson noted he had made four BBC documentaries and expected the organization to understand Tourette's and prevent his tics from being broadcast. He observed a microphone positioned near him that captured his tic and other outbursts throughout the evening. Davidson's team confirmed he reached out to the affected stars. Davidson emphasized that while his tics couldn't be controlled, the sound could have been managed through physical audio control measures.

Read at Vulture