Jack Whitehall took a swipe at the Baftas row involving Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson while presenting the 2026 Brit Awards.
Hosting the music awards ceremony, which is broadcast by ITV, Whitehall assured fans that any swearing would be handled by “the best in the business on the bleep button tonight… it’s the guy who did the Baftas”.
The BBC is currently conducting an investigation into the incident last week in which Davidson, whose life inspired the film I Swear, was heard involuntarily shouting a racial slur while Sinners stars Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award.
While host Alan Cumming had explained to the audience that “a person with Tourette syndrome” was in the crowd and that he had “no control over his language”, the racial slur was not edited out of the show when it was broadcast on a delay later that evening.
A BBC spokesperson said on Wednesday 25 February: “The BBC has been reviewing what happened at Bafta on Sunday evening.
“This was a serious mistake and the director-general has instructed the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) to complete a fast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants.”
Whitehall’s jokes at the Brit Awards received a mixed response during the night on social media. In his opening segment, he referred to singer-songwriter Alex Warren as “Ed Sheeran if you ordered him on Temu” and producer Mark Ronson as “Nick Grimshaw if he learnt to use GarageBand”.
“Jack Whitehall is so painfully insufferable,” one viewer wrote, while another said on X: “I missed Jack Whitehall presenting the Brits, his humour is so tongue-in-cheek it cracks me up.”
Some accused the privately educated Whitehall of classism, as he made jokes about drug use in Manchester and people from Preston.
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“Can Jack Whitehall make a joke that isn’t classist god,” one viewer shared.
Another said: “Jack Whitehall try and not make a joke at the expense of working-class Mancunians challenge (level impossible).”
“Sick of Jack Whitehall coming out with all these poor Manchester tropes,” another viewer posted on X. “It’s classless classism.”
Others suggested that Whitehall’s gags about being obsessed with Harry Styles, which formed the subject of a number of filmed skits at the ceremony, had grown tired.
The Brit Awards were held this year in Manchester at the Co-Op Live arena, marking the first time the ceremony has been held outside of London.
