John Davidson 'refuses to apologise for having Tourette's' in new statement after BAFTAs racial slur incident

John Davidson issued a new statement last night (1 March), a week after the incident at the BAFTAs.

The Tourette’s campaigner was not aware he could be heard for the stage when he had a number of tics at the awards ceremony, including shouting out a racial slur.

Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan were both presenting an award at the time and Davidson ended up voluntarily leaving the room afterwards.

A lot of criticism has been directed at the BAFTAs and BBC for the handling of the incident, with the slur left in the edit of the broadcast while other things were censored.

Lindo received a standing ovation at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday when he addressed the controversy. And Davidson has apologised for any ‘pain, upset and misunderstanding’ that his syndrome may create.

Jordan and Lindo were on stage when Davidson involuntarily shouted the slur. (Stuart Wilson/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)

However, the 54-year-old will ‘never apologise for having Tourette syndrome’.

He wrote on Facebook: “I’ve been waiting all week until the dust settles after the weekend at the BAFTAs in London.

“I would like to thank each and every one of you who have shown love, support and solidarity towards myself and the rest of the Tourette’s Community. Your kind words and support have got me through a very difficult week. Whilst I will never apologies for having Tourette syndrome, i will apologise for any pain, upset and misunderstanding that it may create.

“This past week has been tough, and has reminded me that what I do raising awareness for such a misunderstood condition, there is still a long way to go and I will keep on keeping on until this is achieved.

“Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou I love you all.”

Davidson’s Tourette’s causes him to involuntarily shout out words and has previously spoke about being ‘deeply mortified’ by what happened at the Baftas.

Davidson was in attendance at the BAFTAs as the film inspired by him, I Swear, was nominated. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)

The BBC has apologised for including the slur in its broadcast and its Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) has said it will complete a ‘fast-tracked investigation’ into the incident.

The Baftas also released a statement and apology as it included: “We take full responsibility for putting our guests in a very difficult situation and we apologise to all. We will learn from this, and keep inclusion at the core of all we do, maintaining our belief in film and storytelling as a critical conduit for compassion and empathy.”

During the NNACP awards, Lindo thanked those who had been in touch after the incident and for their support.

“It's a classic case of something that could have been very negative becoming very positive. Thank you so much for the support,” the star said.