All posts tagged: Tourette

SNL sketch mocking Tourette syndrome condemned by charity as ‘unacceptable’

SNL sketch mocking Tourette syndrome condemned by charity as ‘unacceptable’

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter A leading Tourette’s charity has condemned a Saturday Night Live sketch that mocked John Davidson’s involuntary racial slur at the 2026 Baftas, accusing the show of contributing to “horrific” trolling experienced by those with the condition. A spokesperson for Tourette’s Action branded the clip “unacceptable” and said videos like this “can undo the progress our community has spent years building toward greater awareness”. They said Tourette’s “is not a joke” or “a source of entertainment”, but “a condition that can be extremely debilitating, causing pain isolation and huge amounts of discrimination”. The SNL sketch in question, which was released online over the weekend, poked fun at the Baftas incident, in which Scottish campaigner John Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, shouted a racial slur while actors Delroy Lindo and Michael B Jordan were presenting an award. The BBC later broadcast the pre-recorded …

‘Sinners’ Star Jayme Lawson Speaks Out on BAFTA Tourette Incident

‘Sinners’ Star Jayme Lawson Speaks Out on BAFTA Tourette Incident

Published by Daniella Wilson

Sinners actress Jayme Lawson candidly shared her thoughts on last weekend’s incident at the BAFTA Awards while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter on the NAACP Image Awards red carpet last night. “I’ll first say a big shout-out to Mike and Delroy; let’s continue to honor them for how they handled that in real time,” Lawson said about Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo having the N-word shouted at them by guest John Davidson, who has Tourette Syndrome, while they were onstage to present at the British awards ceremony. “The grace and the dignity that they exercised and the whole home team, everybody that was out there really carried themselves well. “I think the events this weekend exposed a couple of things,” Lawson continued. “Institutionally, we still don’t understand what inclusion means. Just because you invite someone into a space, but you don’t provide the necessary resources to keep them and everyone else in that room safe by them being there, that’s not inclusivity. That’s exploitation.” That man’s disability got exploited that night, and it led to …

Racial slur at BAFTAs stirs complex feelings for Black people with Tourette syndrome

Racial slur at BAFTAs stirs complex feelings for Black people with Tourette syndrome

Published by Daniella Wilson

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails For Black people living with Tourette syndrome, the British Academy Film and Television Arts Awards incident earlier this week where a vocal tic manifested as a racial slur while two Black stars of the movie “Sinners” were onstage has left them with complicated feelings. “It’s been pretty difficult because I feel like there’s such a clash between both sides,” said Chloe Winston, 24, who experiences coprolalia, the same verbal tic as John Davidson, the BAFTA nominee and Tourette syndrome advocate who yelled the slur. “A tic is not intentional, but it still causes harm. And I think that does require accountability.” Davidson’s utterance just as Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the first award of that night’s ceremony ignited a firestorm that overshadowed Sunday’s BAFTAs. There was immediate outrage that the actors and other Black attendees were subjected …

BAFTAs Brought Painful Reminder for Tourette Syndrome Community

BAFTAs Brought Painful Reminder for Tourette Syndrome Community

Published by Daniella Wilson

When the advocate Jess Thom heard about a person with Tourette’s “ticcing” the BAFTAs, she had a familiar feeling: dread. Thom has Tourette Syndrome and when she got word of what happened with John Davidson, it brought to the surface many of the misunderstandings and confused reactions she has spent her life trying to fight. “There are a lot of myths and oversimplifications about Tourette Syndrome, and a global frenzy is not the best place to have a conversation about them,” the U.K.-based Thom, 45, said by Zoom from her home Monday evening as she reflected on the events. “And it’s all happening in a climate with increased hostility to disabled people, with threats to Medicaid and the ADA.” Davidson at the ceremony engaged in “ticcing,” the term for when people who have Tourette Syndrome, or TS, involuntarily say or do something that can have the effect of making others uncomfortable. In this case, the executive producer and inspiration for the Tourette’s-focused winner, I Swear, called out a series of curses and insults, as well as a racial …

Outcry Roils BAFTAs After Guest With Tourette Syndrome Shouts N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo

Outcry Roils BAFTAs After Guest With Tourette Syndrome Shouts N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo

Published by Sam Flores

At Sunday night’s BAFTA Awards, John Davidson—the real-life inspiration for the celebrated British film I Swear—shouted the N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while the Sinners stars were presenting the award for best visual effects. The outburst followed an opening monologue from host Alan Cumming during which Davidson, who has Tourette syndrome, was involuntarily ticking. The audience had been informed of Davidson’s condition before the show began—but it was only after he said the racial slur that Cumming openly addressed the issue. “You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming explained from the stage. “Thanks for your understanding and for helping create a respectful space for everyone.” After the incident, Davidson appeared to remove himself from the theater, according to Variety. At the Warner Bros. after-party following the ceremony, Lindo told Vanity Fair that he and Jordan “did what we had to do” while presenting—but that he also wished “someone from …