At the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, host Alan Cumming thanked audiences for their understanding and apologized for any offense they may have taken after a Tourette syndrome advocate disrupted the ceremony with profanity and slurs.
According to Variety, John Davidson, the subject of the BAFTA-winning biopic “I Swear,” experienced several uncontrollable outbursts during the show. He was heard shouting “shut the fuck up” during a speech from BAFTA chair Sara Putt, and also yelled “fuck you” while the directors of the animated film “Arco” were accepting the award for best children’s and family film. Later, Davidson shouted the n-word while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the best visual effects honor to “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson, here with actor Robert Aramayo, the star of his biopic “I Swear” on Saturday, interrupted the BAFTA Film Awards with several involuntary outbursts on Sunday.
Karwai Tang via Getty Images
Cumming acknowledged the interruptions at two separate points during the ceremony.
“This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” he explained. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
Later in the show, after several more outbursts, Cumming apologized again.
“Tourette’s syndrome is a disability, and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.”
The disruptions stopped during the second half of the event after Davidson left the venue. BAFTA organizers did not ask him to depart, Variety reported.
“I Swear” star Robert Aramayo called Davidson “the most remarkable man” he had ever met while accepting an award for playing the Tourette’s syndrome advocate at Sunday’s event.
Davidson first began to experience tics when he was 12 years old, but wasn’t diagnosed with Tourette syndrome until he was 25. He served as the inspiration for the film “I Swear,” which competed in five categories on Sunday.
Actor Robert Aramayo, who played Davidson in the film, was the dark horse winner of the evening’s best lead actor award, beating Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet for the honor. Aramayo also won the BAFTAs’ Rising Star award and paid tribute to Davidson during his acceptance speech, calling him “the most remarkable man I ever met.”
“I just want to say for people who are living with Tourette’s, it’s the buzz around them that helped define what their experience is so, to quote the film, ‘They need support and understanding.’”