Alan Cumming has strongly criticized BAFTA's handling of a racial slur incident that occurred during the awards ceremony in February. The actor, who hosted the event, described the situation as a result of "bad, bad, bad leadership" and expressed his frustration, stating he was "p***ed off" by the incident.

Incident Details

The controversy arose when John Davidson, a guest with severe Tourette's syndrome attending to support a film about his life, involuntarily shouted the N-word while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage presenting an award. The BBC failed to omit the slur from the broadcast and left the clip online for over 12 hours.

Cumming, who had issued a warning about John's tics prior to the ceremony, did not hear the racial slur due to his earpiece. He lamented how "poor John" struggled with the scrutiny and the poorly-handled situation.

Cumming's Response

The 61-year-old actor, known for his role in The Traitors US, spoke to The Times about the scandal. He blamed "bad people who weren't doing their jobs properly" and who "really had not prepared and let people down."

Cumming vowed never to host the BAFTA show again, emphasizing the need for better preparation and leadership to prevent such incidents in the future.

Background on John Davidson

John Davidson, 54, was attending the awards in honor of the film I Swear, which details his life and his diagnosis with Tourette syndrome at a time when little was known about the condition. Despite the warning about his tics, the extremity of his language was not emphasized, leading to the incident.