{"id":2298628,"date":"2026-02-25T01:45:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2298628"},"modified":"2026-02-25T01:45:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:45:49","slug":"baylen-dupree-defends-john-davidson-after-baftas-racial-slur-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/baylen-dupree-defends-john-davidson-after-baftas-racial-slur-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Baylen Dupree Defends John Davidson After BAFTAs Racial Slur Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Reality star Baylen Dupree<\/strong><\/a> is speaking out in defense of Tourette syndrome advocate John Davidson<\/strong><\/a> after he blurted out a racial slur as part of his Tourtette\u2019s tics at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to speak on this as someone who lives with Tourette\u2019s,\u201d Dupree, 23, wrote in a statement shared via Instagram on Tuesday, February 24. \u201cWhen you live with this disorder, you lose control of your own voice sometimes. And that is a terrifying thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> and Delroy Lindo<\/strong>\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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Davidson was attending the awards ceremony in London to represent the film, I Swear<\/em>, which explores his life growing up with Tourette syndrome in 1980s Scotland after experiencing his first verbal and physical tics at age 12.<\/p>\n

Host Alan Cumming<\/strong>, who told the crowd that Davidson was in attendance at the event and warned them that they may hear involuntary tics<\/a> throughout the evening, thanked the audience for their \u201cunderstanding\u201d after hearing the offensive language. Jamie Foxx<\/strong> was among the stars who shared their thoughts on the now-viral moment, calling it \u201cunacceptable<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTics are not thoughts. They are not opinions. They are not secret beliefs hiding underneath the surface,\u201d Dupree explained. \u201cThey are involuntary neurological impulses \u2014 like a sneeze or hiccup except sometimes they attach themselves to words that carry weight, history and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

She suggested that Davidson likely felt \u201cimmediate shame\u201d and uttered words he \u201cdidn\u2019t mean\u201d due to his disorder. (Davidson publicly addressed the incident in a statement shared with Variety<\/em><\/a> on Monday, February 23, noting, \u201cI am, and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think if a slur comes out, it must reflect what\u2019s in your heart,\u201d Dupree continued. \u201cBut Tourette\u2019s doesn\u2019t pull from hatred \u2014 it often pulls from anxiety, from fear, from the very thing you\u2019re most scared of saying. The brain misfires on what feels charged or taboo.\u201d (The TLC alum<\/a> had tics in her younger years but was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in 2020 ahead her 18th birthday.)<\/p>\n

She noted that Tourette\u2019s \u201cdoesn\u2019t excuse the hurt a word carries,\u201d adding, \u201cWords matter. History matters. Pain matters.\u201d Dupree pointed out, \u201cBut so does neurological reality. There is a difference between intent and impulse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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