Alan Cumming has said he will not host the Bafta film awards again after a Tourette syndrome activist shouted a racial slur during the ceremony in February. The actor criticised the organisers as 'bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly' in an interview with the Sunday Times.
John Davidson, whose film I Swear was nominated for several awards, shouted the N-word twice during the live broadcast, which remained on BBC iPlayer overnight before being removed. The BBC and Bafta later apologised. An independent review commissioned by Bafta found no evidence of malicious intent.
Cumming said he was not fully aware of what had happened during the ceremony, as 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 slur at a party the day before.
Describing the event as a 'shitshow', Cumming added that he had already told his agent before the ceremony that he never wanted to host again. He said the role was a 'tough gig' and that he was battling against expectations to be 'very generic, middle-of-the-road'.
Davidson later told Variety that his tics were involuntary and not a reflection of his values. Bafta declined to comment when approached by the Guardian.
