Tourette's activist says BAFTAs seated him by mic, assured slurs would be edited

"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—which, after all, was some 40 rows back from the stage—from being included in the broadcast."

"He's now wondering whether it was wise to have a microphone just in front of me—so close to where I was seated, knowing I would tic."

"It simply bursts out of me like a gunshot. During the ceremony, Davidson could also be heard saying, Shut the fk up and fk you. Davidson also emphasized throughout the interview that his tics have absolutely nothing to do with what I think, feel or believe. It's an involuntary neurological misfire."

John Davidson, a Tourette's syndrome activist and inspiration for the BAFTA-winning film I Swear, experienced involuntary vocal tics during the BAFTAs Awards ceremony that resulted in him blurting out racial epithets and profanities. Despite BAFTA's assurance that swearing would be edited from the broadcast, the tics were captured on the live feed. Davidson was seated approximately 40 rows from the stage with a microphone positioned directly in front of him, which amplified the disruptiveness of his condition. He emphasized that his tics are involuntary neurological misfires completely disconnected from his actual thoughts, beliefs, or values. Davidson ultimately left the ceremony to prevent further disruption and expressed concern about the microphone placement given his known condition.

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