Alan Cumming has criticised Bafta organisers as “bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly” following the N-word outburst by Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson during the film awards ceremony in February. The incident, broadcast live by the BBC, saw Davidson shout the racial slur twice as well as a derogatory term aimed at Cumming, who was hosting the event.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Cumming said he was not fully aware of what had happened during the ceremony because he could not hear specifics through his earpiece. He also revealed that neither he nor the audience had been warned by Bafta that Davidson might use offensive language, despite reports that Davidson had used the N-word at a party the day before. “They just said, ‘There’ll be noise’,” Cumming stated.
The BBC initially kept the broadcast on iPlayer overnight before removing it and issuing an apology, alongside Bafta. An independent review commissioned by Bafta concluded in April that there was no evidence of malicious intent. Cumming described the event as a “shitshow” and said he had already told his agent he never wanted to host the Baftas again.
Davidson, whose film I Swear was nominated for several awards, later expressed his distress over the incident, emphasising that his tics are involuntary and not a reflection of his values. “My tics are not an intention, not a choice and not a reflection of my values,” he told Variety. Bafta declined to comment when approached by the Guardian.
