Sinners production designer Hannah Beachler said Alan Cumming’s “throwback apology” after the N-word was shouted during the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony “made the situation worse”.
“I’m trying to write about what happened at the BAFTAs but I can’t find the words,” Beachler, who was nominated for the award, posted on X after the ceremony. “Situations like this are highly unlikely, but it happened three times that night, one of which was directed at me on my way to dinner after the show.”
“And for the third time against a black woman. I understand and deeply understand why this is an impossible situation. I know we have to deal with this with grace and push through. But what made the situation even worse was the throwaway apology at the end of the show that said, ‘If I offended you.’ Of course we were offended…but our frequencies, our spiritual vibrations, are tuned to a higher level than what happened. I’m not stealing (sic), this didn’t bounce back on me, but I exist beyond that. Nothing can take away from me as an artist.”
Mr Beachler was understood to be referring to a number of outbursts by Tourette’s activist John Davidson, who were the inspiration for the BAFTA-nominated biopic I Swear.
As well as shouting the word “fuck” multiple times during his speeches, including “shut up” during BAFTA chair Sarah Putt’s introduction to the ceremony, he was also heard shouting the n-word when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presented with the award for best visual effects for “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
BAFTA host Alan Cumming issued two statements about Davidson’s abuse during the ceremony, one explaining that “contextual language” could be a symptom of Tourette’s disease for some people and thanking the audience for their “understanding and cooperation in creating a respectful space for all.”
He then added: “Tourette Syndrome is a disorder and the tics you heard tonight are involuntary. That means people with Tourette Syndrome have no control over their speech. I apologize if I was offended tonight.”
In the US, the slur was not cut from the broadcast, even though the ceremony was broadcast on BBC One and E! in the UK with a two-hour delay.
“I Swear” won a number of awards that night, including Best Actor for actor Robert Aramayo, who played Davidson, who was diagnosed with Tourette’s disease at age 25 after years of abuse, beating out Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ethan Hawke.
Before the ceremony began, the floor manager called upon the audience to issue a number of notices regarding fire safety procedures, etc., warning them that Mr. Davidson was in the audience and that he “has Tourette’s syndrome, so please be aware that involuntary noises and movements may be heard during the ceremony.”
