At the BAFTAs on Sunday, John Davidson, an activist with Tourette syndrome and the subject of the BAFTA-winning film “I Swear,” shouted the N-word when “Sinners” stars Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan were presenting an award on stage.
Much of the conversation about the incident has focused on the emotional distress the slur caused the presenters and those around them during a night of celebration. (Both Davidson and BAFTA apologized Monday.) The fallout has also brought attention to the public’s understanding (or lack thereof) of Tourette syndrome.
Paul Thompson, a professor of neurology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine who uses brain imaging to better understand Tourette syndrome, noted that many people are still unfamiliar with the particulars of the disability.
“It’s a very enigmatic disorder,” he told TheWrap. “People don’t understand it fully, and if it was better understood, new treatments could be tested. That’s obviously the goal of the neuroscience research here.”
Tourette syndrome is a developmental condition whose diagnosis is based on the onset of motor tics in a patient before they turn 18. The main criteria of diagnosis is the inability to control tics. While these are most often physical tics, like shrugging, blinking or throat-clearing, a subgroup of individuals with Tourette’s struggle with involuntary vocalizations.
“It’s carefully diagnosed. Someone would have to have this for more than a year. They’d have to rule out that it wasn’t due to some other medical condition or substance or medication use,” Thompson said. “That can be very confusing to people because you can say, ‘Well, why would a person call out? Why would they not be able to control what they say?’ which is the case here.”
Indeed, there have been complicated feelings to Davidson’s outburst at the BAFTAs, with “Sinners” production designer Hannah Beachler calling the situation “impossible” as the racial slur was hurled at her during one of Davidson’s tics.
“I understand and deeply know why this is an impossible situation. I know we must handle this with grace and continue to push through,” she said while acknowledging the hurt that the tics caused.
There are some treatments that can help alleviate Tourette syndrome, ranging from relatively minor solutions for less severe cases to anti-psychotics and neurostimulation that can be “completely disabling,” according to Thompson. He likened the disability to conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which have similar physical effects but are more broadly understood by the public.
“It’s not like there’s a simple way of thinking about this, and I think what makes it complicated is if we saw someone that was struggling with a disorder and it was obvious to other people — maybe they have dementia or Alzheimer’s — people are used to understanding that disability.”
Some individuals with Tourette’s, like Davidson, struggle with a specific symptom known as coprolalia, a Greek word that refers to involuntary swearing or obscenities. While the words are not meant by the people with these tics, Thompson acknowledged the devastating effect they can have on those around them.
“If someone had Parkinson’s — someone like Michael J. Fox, who’s in the media and has very obviously a motor condition — people don’t think of it as, ‘He should be able to suppress that.’ It’s the same kind of logic here,” he said. “I do think it’s a little different, though, because of it being a racial slur. I’m not an expert on this, but maybe the people that are organizing the events could think of a way to make sure people are a little bit protected from this, both the person with Tourette’s and the people around them. It’s very much in people’s minds today.”
Emma McNally, CEO of support and research charity Tourette’s Action, similarly weighed in on the conversation, sharing a statement meant to address negative comments that arose toward Davidson after the incident.
“We deeply understand that these words can cause hurt but at the same time, it is vital that the public understands a fundamental truth about Tourette syndrome: tics are involuntary. They are not a reflection of a person’s beliefs, intentions or character,” she said. “People with Tourette’s can say words or phrases they do not mean, do not endorse and feel great distress about afterwards. These symptoms are neurological, not intentional, and they are something John — like many others with Tourette’s — lives with every single day.”
Thompson likened the BAFTA moment to instances where children with Tourette’s have used such language at school. Should they be expelled? Can the school take measures to let others know the language isn’t intentional? There are no easy answers.
“I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all approach. The only way that we as people can help each other out is thinking about these things ahead of time,” Thompson said. “I think with this also now being in the media, it can maybe help people come up with ways to do this.”
