Reality star Baylen Dupree is speaking out in defense of Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson after he blurted out a racial slur as part of his Tourtette’s tics at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards.
“I need to speak on this as someone who lives with Tourette’s,” Dupree, 23, wrote in a statement shared via Instagram on Tuesday, February 24. “When you live with this disorder, you lose control of your own voice sometimes. And that is a terrifying thing.”
Dupree took to her social media platform after Davidson was heard shouting the N-word and other obscenities from the audience during Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo’s moment on stage at the Sunday, February 22, star-studded event held in London. Lindo, 73, was visibly taken aback when the incident took place as the duo presented the award for Best Visual Effects.
Davidson was attending the awards ceremony in London to represent the film, I Swear, which explores his life growing up with Tourette syndrome in 1980s Scotland after experiencing his first verbal and physical tics at age 12.
Host Alan Cumming, who told the crowd that Davidson was in attendance at the event and warned them that they may hear involuntary tics throughout the evening, thanked the audience for their “understanding” after hearing the offensive language. Jamie Foxx was among the stars who shared their thoughts on the now-viral moment, calling it “unacceptable.”
“Tics are not thoughts. They are not opinions. They are not secret beliefs hiding underneath the surface,” Dupree explained. “They are involuntary neurological impulses — like a sneeze or hiccup except sometimes they attach themselves to words that carry weight, history and pain.”
She suggested that Davidson likely felt “immediate shame” and uttered words he “didn’t mean” due to his disorder. (Davidson publicly addressed the incident in a statement shared with Variety on Monday, February 23, noting, “I am, and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.”)
“People think if a slur comes out, it must reflect what’s in your heart,” Dupree continued. “But Tourette’s doesn’t pull from hatred — it often pulls from anxiety, from fear, from the very thing you’re most scared of saying. The brain misfires on what feels charged or taboo.” (The TLC alum had tics in her younger years but was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in 2020 ahead her 18th birthday.)
She noted that Tourette’s “doesn’t excuse the hurt a word carries,” adding, “Words matter. History matters. Pain matters.” Dupree pointed out, “But so does neurological reality. There is a difference between intent and impulse.”
Baylen Out Loud star Baylen Dupree has found her match in boyfriend Colin Dooley. “He’s, like, my backbone,” Baylen, 22, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, January 9, ahead of the premiere of her eponymous TLC docuseries. “Everything that I do, just being around him helps. He understands me somewhat better than I understand myself […]
“Living with Tourette’s means constantly apologizing for something you didn’t choose,” Dupree concluded. “It means living with the fear that one moment could define you forever. It means knowing that no matter how kind you are, no matter what you believe, one tic could make the world decide who you are.”
Amid the controversy, a rep for the BAFTAs also spoke out on February 23 to address the incident.
“We want to acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all,” the statement began. “Early in the ceremony a loud tic in the form of a profoundly offensive term was heard by many people in the room. Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage at the time, and we apologise unreservedly to them, and to all those impacted. We would like to thank Michael and Delroy for their incredible dignity and professionalism.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usmagazine.com ’
