Jamie Foxx has weighed in on John Davidson's viral outburst at the 2026 BAFTA ceremony, in which the man with Tourette's syndrome shouted the n-word and other insults while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award on stage. Taking to the comments section of a post from The Neighbordhood Talk, Foxx labeled the situation "unacceptable."
"Nah he meant that sh*t," Foxx wrote. "Out of all the words you could've said, Tourette's makes you say that? Unacceptable." Other fans in the comments section agreed with Foxx about the situation. "They be having Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and a few other things & still remember that word," one user posted. Another added: "That just mean it was already on his mind.. he just couldn’t hold it in. Crazy."
It wasn't the only time Davidson's uncontrollable tics popped up during the ceremony. He also shouted "shut the f*ck up" at BAFTA chair Sara Putt and yelled "f*ck you" at the directors of Boong. According to Variety, Davidson decided to leave halfway through the event.
Addressing the situation, host Alan Cumming asked for the audience's understanding. “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,” he told the crowd. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”
Later in the ceremony, Cumming added: “Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.”
Who Is John Davidson?
John Davidson was the real-life subject of the British indie film, I Swear, in which Robert Aramayo stars as Davidson while he grows up with Tourette's syndrome in Scotland in the 1980s. For his performance, Aramayo won the BAFTA for best actor. Davidson famously raised awareness for Tourette's as the focus of the 1989 documentary, John’s Not Mad.
