00:00Balin Out Loud star Balin Dupree is speaking out in defense of fellow Tourette's activist
00:05John Davidson after a controversial moment at the 2026 BAFTAs. During the ceremony,
00:10Davidson shouted a racial slur from the audience while actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo
00:16were on stage presenting an award. The two stars who appear in the award-winning film
00:20Sinners appeared visibly shocked but quickly composed themselves and continued with the
00:25presentation. For a vital part of movie making.
00:30We're here to celebrate the artists who expand. Davidson who has lived with Tourette's since the
00:35age of 12 later said he was deeply mortified if anyone believed his involuntary tics were
00:41intentional or carried meaning. Dupree shared a lengthy Instagram statement explaining what
00:45it's like to live with Tourette's syndrome. The 23-year-old content creator who documents her
00:49own experience with the neurodevelopmental disorder wrote that Tourette's syndrome can cause people to
00:54lose control of their voice. She emphasized that tics are not thoughts, opinions, or hidden
00:59beliefs. Instead, she described them as involuntary neurological impulses, compared them to a sneeze
01:05or a hiccup that can sometimes attach themselves to words that carry painful history. Dupree asked
01:10followers to consider how heartbreaking it would be to say something you don't mean. She wrote that
01:14Tourette's doesn't pull from hatred, but often from anxiety, fear, or from the very thing a person
01:19is most afraid of saying. At the same time, Dupree acknowledged the harm words can cause.
01:25Words matter. History matters. Pain matters, she wrote, stressing the difference between intent and
01:30impulse. She added that people with Tourette's often live with the fear that one uncontrollable
01:35moment could define them forever. The incident sparked backlash online. Actor Jamie Foxx called
01:40the outburst unacceptable in a social media post. Meanwhile, BAFTA later issued an apology for airing
01:46the moment, noting the ceremony broadcast was delayed and could have been edited. Lindo later told
01:51Vanity Fair that he and Jordan did what they had to do and continued presenting, though he wished
01:56someone from BAFTA had spoken to them afterward. Dupree concluded her message by urging the public to
02:01educate themselves about Tourette's. She said it's possible to acknowledge the harm of a word while also
02:06understanding the reality of a neurological disorder, adding that when someone with Tourette's says
02:11something offensive as a tick, it's coming from a brain that sometimes doesn't give them a choice.
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