Baylen Dupree defended fellow Tourette activist John Davidson after shouting racist slurs at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo at the 2026 BAFTAs.
The “Baylen Out Loud” star, who has been documenting her experience living with the syndrome, wrote a lengthy statement on Instagram on Tuesday, sharing why the neurodevelopmental disorder “is not motivated by hate.”
“As someone living with Tourette’s disease, we need to talk about this,” she wrote. “When you live with this disorder, sometimes you can’t control your voice. It’s scary.”
Dupree, 23, said the tics that plague Tourette’s patients are “not thoughts” and “not opinions.”
“They are not secret beliefs hiding beneath the surface. They are involuntary neurological impulses, like sneezing or hiccups, except when we cling to words that carry weight, history, and pain,” she wrote.
The TikTok star then asked her followers to consider how “heartbreaking” it is to say something that you “don’t mean”.
“People think that when a slur comes out, it must be a reflection of what’s inside them. But in the case of Tourette’s, it’s often not drawn from hate, but from insecurity and fear, the very thing you least want to say,” Dupree added.
“The brain malfunctions when it feels condemned or taboo. It doesn’t allow words to hurt. Words matter. History matters. Pain matters,” she wrote.
Dupree explained that there is a “difference between intent and impulse” and that people with Tourette’s often have to apologize for “things they didn’t make.”
“It means living with the fear that one moment may define you forever. It means knowing that no matter how kind you are or what you believe, the world can decide who you are with one tic,” she added.
Mr. Dupree concluded his statement by urging people to educate themselves about the disease.
“While we consider the harm of words, we can also consider the reality of disability. Compassion does not cancel responsibility, but education is important,” she says.
“Understand this: When a person with Tourette’s says something offensive as a tic, it’s not coming from the heart. It’s coming from a brain that sometimes doesn’t give them a choice.”
At Sunday’s BAFTA awards ceremony, Sinners star Jordan and Lind took to the stage to present the award after Davidson, who has had Tourette’s disease since the age of 12, shouted the N-word from the audience.
The actors looked shocked and stopped on stage, but quickly recovered and finished presenting the awards.
Lind, 73, later told Vanity Fair at the afterparty that she and her 39-year-old co-star “did what[they]had to do” and continued to present. But he hoped “someone at BAFTA would talk to[them]after that.”
Several stars, including Jamie Foxx, condemned Davidson’s racist comments, calling them “unacceptable.”
“No, that’s what he meant,” the “Ray” star, 58, wrote. “Of all the words, can you say that Tourette’s words say that?”
Following the backlash, BAFTA apologized for broadcasting the heartbreaking moment, which was filmed two hours before it aired on TV.
Davidson also chimed in, saying: “I would be very disappointed if anyone thought my involuntary tics were intentional or meant anything.”
