John Davidson, the subject of the film “I Swear” who has Tourette’s, used the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on the BAFTAs stage on Sunday.

Sinners production designer speaks out on ‘throw away apology’ amid BAFTAs N-word controversy

John Davidson, the subject of the film "I Swear" who has Tourette's, used the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on the BAFTAs stage on Sunday.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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February 23, 2026 11:32 a.m. ET

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Alan Cumming, Hannah Beachler, John Davidson at 2026 BAFTA Awards. Credit:

Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty; Dominic Lipinski/Getty; Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty

- Oscar winner and *Sinners* nominee Hannah Beachler spoke out about her BAFTAs experience.

- "I Swear" subject John Davidson, who has Tourette's, shouted the N-word at Sunday's ceremony.

- Host Alan Cumming later urged on stage for "understanding and helping create a respectful space."**

Amid growing controversy surrounding the use of the N-word at the 2026 BAFTA Awards, *Sinners*' production designer and nominee Hannah Beachler has spoken out about the handling of the incident in the aftermath.

Throughout Sunday night's London-based show, *I Swear* film subject and BAFTAs attendee John Davidson, who has Tourette's, shouted expletives and slurs — with one moment in particular captured on camera, as he exclaimed the N-word while *Sinners* stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took the stage to present. The ceremony did not air live, but the incident was not cut for the tape-delayed broadcast.**

"I keep trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs, and I can't find the words," Beachler, who won an Oscar for *Black Panther*, wrote on X after the ceremony. "The situation is almost impossible, but it happened 3 times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show."

According to the Mayo Clinic, Tourette's is a "disorder that involves repetitive movements or unwanted sounds (tics) that can't be easily controlled." Davidson's life with the condition inspired the aforementioned 2025 BAFTA-nominated movie *I Swear *starring Robert Aramayo, who won the BAFTA for Outstanding Leading Actor.**

Alan Cumming hosts 2026 BAFTAs.

Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty

Beachler alleged that she heard Davidson use the word for a "third time" directed "at a Black woman" at the Alan Cumming-hosted event, which unfolded Sunday at London's Royal Festival Hall.

"I understand and deeply know why this is an impossible situation. I know we must handle this with grace and continue to push through. But what made the situation worse was the throw away apology of 'if you were offended' at the end of the show," Beachler wrote, referencing Cumming's words that came after Davidson's interjections.

She finished, "Of course we were offended...but our frequency, our spiritual vibration is tuned to a higher level than what happened. I am not steal [*sic*], this did not bounce off of me, but I exist above it. It can't take away from who I am as an artist."

BBC apologizes for not removing slurs from BAFTAs' tape-delayed broadcast

'Sinners' and director Ryan Coogler make BAFTA Awards history

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At the show, Cumming took the stage and asked for "understanding" amid the outbursts, which he indicated might've led to audiences hearing "some strong language in the background" of the presentation, and asked for “understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone," per *Variety*.

According to the outlet, the *Traitors* Emmy winner later advised, "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."

On Monday, the BBC apologized for not removing the incident from the broadcast and said it would removed it from the streaming version on iPlayer.***** *has reached out to representatives for Davidson, Cumming, and the BAFTAs for comment.

Earlier this year, Beachler and the rest of the team behind director Ryan Coogler's box office smash *Sinners* made Oscars history, scoring 16 overall nominations — the most-ever nods for any film that has ever competed at the Academy Awards.

Read Beachler's response to the BAFTAs controversy above.

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