Jack Whitehall, host of the 2026 Brit Awards, took a jab at the BAFTAs on Saturday night’s award show following the racial slur incident.
The Brit Awards are the first live award show in the UK since the BAFTAs, and Whitehall took the opportunity to issue a warning to viewers during the broadcast.
“There may be some swearing, but don’t worry, we’ve got the best in the business on the bleep button,” Whitehall said during the live show. “It’s the guy who did the BAFTAs. Nothing gets past him.”
During the BAFTA Awards on the BBC last week, and while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award on stage, Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson, who is the subject of the biopic I Swear, shouted an involuntary remark from the audience.
Davidson yelled the n-word as Jordan and Lindo were presenting and although the gala was on a two-hour delay, it was not edited out from the broadcast.
Following the incident, 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.”
Davidson also issued a statement following the incident, saying, “I am, and always have been deeply mortified if anyone considers my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning.”
He later added, “I have spent my life trying to support and empower the Tourette’s community and to teach empathy, kindness and understanding from others and I will continue to do so. I chose to leave the auditorium early into the ceremony as I was aware of the distress my tics were causing.”
Watch the moment below.