I Swear actor Thierry Mabonga defended John Davidson after the campaigner’s use of N-word during BAFTAs
Addressing the awards scandal in a TikTok video, actor Thierry Mabonga has defended John Davidson after the campaigner’s use of the N-word during the BAFTAs.
Thierry Mabonga has defended John Davidson after the campaigner’s use of the N-word during the BAFTAs.
Saying actors should have been warned in advance about his condition, Thierry, 30 – who portrayed John’s lawyer in the biopic I Swear – spoke out after John, 54, was heard shouting the slur as Michael B. Jordan, 39, and Delroy Lindo, 73, presented the first award of the night at the ceremony on Sunday (22.02.26.)
In a video posted to TikTok, Thierry said of a scene in the film: “I’m representing him but at the same time, he’s hurling abuse at me and it’s very offensive words.”
He added: “Now, this is the condition, the disease of Tourette’s Syndrome. John cannot control what he says. In fact that’s the whole point of why we’re making this film.”
Thierry also said: “We’ve made this film, I Swear, to educate people about Tourette’s syndrome.
“How can you say that he can’t be there at the awards? This is a film about his life. This is a film about him.
“Absolutely he has to be there. And absolutely it’s great that he was there.”
Thierry continued: “And I don’t know if some of the actors there were told in advance about someone with Tourette’s being there.
“Hopefully they would have been told (and) therefore prepared for that kind of stuff that happened.”
He concluded: “Regardless, John has Tourette’s. Enough said.”
John, whose life inspired I Swear, has Tourette’s syndrome – a neurological condition characterised by involuntary movements or sounds known as tics.
During the Baftas broadcast, host Alan Cumming, 61, later addressed the incident, saying: “You may have heard some strong and offensive language tonight. If you have seen the film I Swear, you will know that film is about the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome.”
Alan added: “Tourette’S syndrome is a disability and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’S syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you were offended.”
John has experienced coprolalia – a symptom that can cause involuntary utterance of socially inappropriate words – and previously shouted “f*** the Queen” at Elizabeth II when receiving his MBE in 2019.
The BBC broadcast of the ceremony, shown on a delay, initially included the slur.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. “This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional.
“We apologise that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”
