Baftas host Alan Cumming has revealed he refused to speak to leaders at the organisation after this year’s film awards, describing the controversy that unfolded after John Davidson could be heard shouting the n-word in the BBC’s broadcast as a “s***show”.
Tourettes campaigner Davidson was attending the ceremony to celebrate the success of I Swear, which was based on his extraordinary life and efforts to raise awareness of the condition.
Davidson, who has completely uncontrollable tics, could be heard shouting the slur as actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the award for special effects after the BBC failed to edit it out.
A furore soon unfolded as the BBC also failed to remove the incident from its iPlayer version of the broadcast, while both the BBC and Bafta scrambled to apologise to the actors involved, disability communities and Davidson, who said he was "deeply mortified” if anyone thought his involuntary tics were “intentional or [carried] any meaning".
Cumming, who was hosting the ceremony, has now said he did not hear any of Davidson’s tics while he was presiding over the event – including one that mentioned his own name.
He told The Times: “It was an international scandal. 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.”
The 61-year-old continued: “I had a thing in my ear and you can’t hear very specifically what’s happening. I haven’t actually asked them, but I don’t imagine that Delroy and Michael B Jordan heard the actual slur either, they were probably just, like, ‘Well, there’s someone shouting in the audience.’ ”
Cumming, who had told the audience Davidson’s tics might be heard before the show started, added that he had no idea what had happened when he was given an apology to read from a teleprompter during the ceremony.
“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,” he said. “That p****d me off.
“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 Scottish TV star, who is enjoying huge success as the host of the US version of The Traitors, added that he initially refused to talk to Bafta when they apologised to him.
This weekend, the Bafta TV Awards will take place, hosted by Greg Davies. Netflix’s groundbreaking Adolescence is the nomination frontrunner with 11, including five for its stars.
Owen Cooper (who played the central character, Jamie) and Ashley Walter (who played a detective) both featured on the supporting actor shortlist, while Stephen Graham is up for best actor for his portrayal of Jamie’s dad. Christine Tremarco (who played the mother) and Erin Doherty (who played a psychologist) are both recognised in the supporting actress category.
Elsewhere, another of Graham and Doherty's projects, the Disney+ series A Thousand Blows, has earned seven nominations. In the unscripted categories, The Celebrity Traitors host Claudia Winkleman and Channel 4’s Virgin Island were among the nominees.
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