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Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson has given a new interview about his involuntary tics at the Bafta Film Awards, clarifying: “What you hear me shouting is literally the last thing in the world I believe; it is the opposite of what I believe.”
One of his tics, which occurred Sunday when Sinners stars Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were onstage, made global headlines as Davidson involuntarily shouted the n-word.
However, in a new interview with Variety, Davidson said the incident should be understood in the context of the tics he was experiencing throughout the event.
“I would appreciate reports of the event explaining that I ticked perhaps 10 different offensive words on the night of the awards,” he said.
“The n-word was one of these, and I completely understand its significance in history and in the modern world, but most articles are giving the impression I shouted one single slur on Sunday.”
For example, when host Alan Cumming joked about his own sexuality with a reference to Paddington Bear, Davidson recalled: “[Cumming] said, ‘Maybe you would like to come home with me, Paddington. It wouldn’t be the first time I have taken a hairy Peruvian bear home with me.’ This resulted in homophobic tics from me and led to a shout of ‘pedophile’ that was likely triggered because Paddington Bear is a children’s character.”
Davidson also said that when the chair of BAFTA started speaking, he shouted: “Boring.”
As Davidson explains in the interview, his tics are “often triggered by what I see and/or what I hear, and this part of the condition is called echolalia.”
He continued: “Tourette’s can feel spiteful and searches out the most upsetting tic for me personally and for those around me. What you hear me shouting is literally the last thing in the world I believe; it is the opposite of what I believe.”
In reference to the n-word incident, he added: “The most offensive word that I ticked at the ceremony, for example, is a word I would never use and would completely condemn if I did not have Tourette’s.”
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Davidson said he chose to leave the auditorium shortly after realizing that Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan had heard his tic from the stage.
He is the inspiration behind the Bafta-winning drama I Swear, starring Robert Aramayo and Maxine Peake. Aramayo won the Best Actor prize for his role in the film.
Tourette’s is a neurological condition characterized by motor and vocal “tics”, such as coughs, twitches, and fully articulated phrases.
A small number of people with Tourette’s also experience something called coprolalia, which involves involuntary cursing or making socially inappropriate remarks.
The words are not chosen for meaning in the moment. The person who says it usually experiences the outbursts as unwanted and distressing. Researchers class it as a complex vocal tic not as intentional speech. It is not a conscious decision. You can read more about it here.
