I Swear director says Baftas 'let down' Tourette's campaigner

Kirk Jones, director of Bafta-winning film I Swear, has said John Davidson was "let down", after the Tourette's campaigner's racist slur was broadcast during the BBC's coverage of Sunday's ceremony.

Jones told the Telegraph he initially thought the slur, shouted while black actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage, had been contained within the auditorium.

"I think John was let down on many, many levels," Jones told the newspaper. "And I think the fact that that [tic] went out for broadcast was perhaps one of the worst ways in which he was let down on the night."

Davidson's condition involves involuntary verbal tics, and the audience had been told they may hear some during the evening.

Earlier this week he told Variety: "I remember there was a microphone just in front of me, and with hindsight I have to question whether this was wise, so close to where I was seated, knowing I would tic."

Bafta told the BBC on Friday they looked into the microphone and had assured StudioCanal, which made I Swear, that it was not amplifying the sound in the room or the broadcast.

It was an analyser microphone which monitors the loudness in the room for "equalisation purposes", Bafta added.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the broadcast of the slur "completely unacceptable and harmful", adding she had spoken to director general Tim Davie and that the "BBC must ensure that this never happens again".

The BBC has apologised and called what happened "a serious mistake", saying Davie has instructed the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) to "complete a fast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants".

Bafta said it wanted to "acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all", adding that it wanted to "assure all our members that a comprehensive review is under way".

I Swear collected three awards on the night, with best actor and rising star going to Robert Aramayo for his lead performance, as well as best casting.

Jones, who also directed Nanny McPhee and My Big Fat Wedding 2, told the newspaper he had assumed the slur would not be broadcast, and went on to celebrate the film's win that evening.

He only learned it had been aired on TV when he saw his phone around 03:00 GMT, including messages from the US as the news reached it.

Jones said he "didn't sleep for two nights" after the ceremony was broadcast.

The broadcast generated global headlines and much commentary on what happened and and how it could have been prevented.

He said he "understands both sides of the argument", but that the slur should not have been broadcast in the first place.

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx posted on Instagram earlier this week that the slur had been "unacceptable".

Some people suggested online that Davidson, who was an executive producer on the film, should not have been invited to the ceremony. But Jones stressed: "The overriding irony is that this is the reason why we made the film in the first place."

He continued: "People were saying things like, 'He must be able to stop himself, he must be racist, otherwise he wouldn't even be thinking of that word. He's putting it on. It's just a mask.'

"It just suddenly felt really old fashioned," says Jones. "It felt like I'd gone back 20 years."

Davidson later told Variety he had felt a "wave of shame and embarrassment" afterwards. "The most offensive word that I ticked at the ceremony, for example, is a word I would never use and would completely condemn if I did not have Tourette's."

Hannah Beachler, the production designer from the film Sinners, posted online after the ceremony: "The situation is almost impossible, but it happened three times that night, and one of the three times was directed at myself on the way to dinner after the show."

Labour MP Dawn Butler wrote to the BBC asking for an "urgent explanation" as to why the slur was broadcast despite the show being on a delay.

The BBC's chief content officer Kate Phillips told staff the BBC took "full responsibility" for what happened, adding that another racial slur had been edited out of the broadcast.

The one shouted when Lindo and Jordan were on stage "was aired in error and we would never have knowingly allowed this to be broadcast", she said.

Jones also noted how Davidson's bike had been stolen on the night of the awards, but was later found by police.

"Any day in his life can turn out like that," he said. "It can be good bits, and then it can be awful bits and aggressive bits and upsetting bits. And that's just what the Tourette's does. It's nasty."

He added that what happened at the Baftas had at least raised awareness, and made Tourette's "a very public subject in a very short space of time".