Alan Cumming says he will not host the BAFTAs again after a controversy during the 2026 ceremony, when a Tourette’s campaigner, John Davidson, produced an involuntary outburst that included a racial slur. The incident occurred early in the evening while Sinners actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting a category. Cumming also criticised how the event was handled in media coverage, saying the slur was broadcast by the BBC without being censored and was aired uncensored on a delayed two-hour programme. In interviews, Cumming describes the situation as an “international scandal” and argues BAFTA showed “bad, bad, bad, bad leadership,” saying organisers were not properly prepared and did not handle the moment appropriately. He adds that he wore an earpiece while presenting and did not hear the outburst clearly, and he later watched himself on screen, saying the on-air apology he read did not carry the right seriousness because he did not understand what he was addressing at the time. Cumming also says he asked his agent not to repeat the hosting role. Following public criticism, including from Delroy Lindo, BAFTA issued an apology and accepted full responsibility for what happened.
Alan Cumming criticises BAFTA leadership after slur aired during 2026 ceremony
Alan Cumming says he will not host the BAFTAs again after a controversy during the 2026 ceremony, when a Tourette’s campaigner, John Davidson, produced an involuntary outburst that included a racial s...
- John Davidson’s involuntary tic during the 2026 BAFTAs included a racial slur while Sinners actors presented a category.
- Alan Cumming hosts the ceremony and later says he will not do it again, citing the experience and its aftermath.
- Cumming criticises BAFTA’s preparation and calls the incident a result of “bad…leadership,” adding he did not hear the slur clearly while presenting.
- Cumming says the BBC aired the slur uncensored as part of its coverage.
- BAFTA issues a public apology and accepts full responsibility after the incident and subsequent criticism.
The actor said he didn’t hear the outburst while hosting, and later regretted the tone of an on-air apology he read from a teleprompter. The post Alan Cumming slams BAFTA’s ‘bad, bad leadership’ after Tourette’s tic aired on BBC appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.
3 months agoAlan Cumming on stage during the 2026 Baftas ceremonyAlan Cumming has made it clear we shouldn’t expect to see him back at the helm of the Baftas next year.The Emmy-winning star presented the Baftas for the first time back in February, with the ceremony inadvertently sparking a media storm when Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson experienced an involuntary tic early on in the evening, shouting the N-word while Sinners actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were introducing a category on stage.Exacerbating the furore even further was the fact that the incident made it into the BBC’s coverage of the event, uncensored, despite it airing on a two-hour delay.“It was an international scandal,” the Scottish actor and presenter told The Times in an interview published on Thursday. “Then poor John gave this interview saying, ‘I’m not a racist. I called Alan Cumming a paedophile too’. Oh great! He’s equal opportunities and my name and ‘paedophile’ were in the same sentences all over the world.”Alan went on to criticise Baftas organisers for their part in the incident, lamenting: “It was bad, bad, bad, bad leadership. Bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly, who really had not prepared and let people down.”The Traitors US host claimed that because of the earpiece he had to wear on stage, he couldn’t “hear very specifically” what went on during the ceremony, casting doubt on whether the Sinners stars would have “heard the actual slur” in the moment, either.Later on in the ceremony, he apologised on behalf of Bafta, without understanding exactly what it was he was addressing.He claimed: “I watched myself back. I was very smiley, I didn’t do it with the gravitas and tone I would have used had I known. That pissed me off.”Alan added: “You could say they didn’t know [what might happen], but they clearly did, because apparently John had said the n-word at a party the day before.”Ending the interview, Alan ruled out the possibility of hosting the Baftas for a second year, claiming that before the event had even begun, he’d asked his agent to “remind me, I never want to do this again”, as the job itself had already proved to be so “tough”.The week after the Baftas, Alan addressed the controversy for the first time, writing on Instagram: “What should have been an evening celebrating creativity as well as diversity and inclusion turned into a trauma-triggering shitshow.”View this post on InstagramHe continued: “I’m so sorry for all the pain Black people have felt at hearing that word echoed round the world.“I’m so sorry the Tourette’s community has been reminded of the lack of understanding and tolerance that abounds regarding their condition.”After Delroy Lindo publicly voiced his disappointment over how Bafta had handled the incident, the awards body issued a public apology, and accepted “full responsibility” for what transpired.READ MORE:Alan Cumming: 'People Are Terrified To Speak Out, But I Feel Like It's My Duty'Baftas N-Word Broadcast Was A Breach Of BBC's Editorial Standards, Investigation FindsTourette's Charity Calls Out SNL Over 'Unacceptable' Baftas Parody Sketch
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