Alan Cumming, host of the Bafta film awards in February, has criticised the organisation's leadership as 'bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly' following an incident where Tourette syndrome activist John Davidson shouted a racial slur during the ceremony. The outburst, which included the N-word and a slur aimed at Cumming, was broadcast by the BBC and later removed from iPlayer.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Cumming described the event as a 'shitshow' and said neither he nor the audience were warned that Davidson might use offensive language. 'They just said, “There’ll be noise,”' Cumming stated, adding that Bafta likely knew of the risk as Davidson had reportedly used the N-word at a party the day before.
The BBC and Bafta both apologised after the incident, and an independent review commissioned by Bafta found 'no evidence of malicious intent'. Cumming, who apologised on stage during the ceremony, said he was not fully aware of what was happening due to his earpiece, and doubted that other attendees like Delroy Lindo or Michael B Jordan heard the slur.
Cumming also revealed he has no plans to host the Baftas again, calling it a 'tough gig' and noting he told his agent before the show he never wanted to repeat the experience. Bafta declined to comment when contacted by the Guardian.
