LONDON (AP) — Britain’s film academy and the BBC apologized to viewers after an audience member with Tourette syndrome shouted a racial slur during the British Academy Film Awards.
The highly offensive word could be heard as “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s ceremony.
Host Alan Cumming had earlier told the audience that a guest at the ceremony was John Davidson, a Scottish campaigner for people with Tourette’s who inspired the BAFTA-nominated film “I Swear.”
Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary, repetitive movements and vocalizations, including the uttering of inappropriate words.
After the outburst, Cumming apologized to the audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the “strong and offensive language.”
“Tourette syndrome is a disability and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language,” Cumming said. “We apologize if you were offended.”
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts referred to Cumming’s statement when asked for comment on Monday.
The epithet could be heard when the BBC broadcast the ceremony about two hours after the live event. The broadcaster apologized Monday, though the offensive word could still be heard on the broadcaster’s streaming site.
“This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and was not intentional,” it said in a statement. “We apologize for any offense caused by the language heard.”
“I Swear” won two BAFTAs, including best actor for Robert Aramayo, who plays Davidson.
Ed Palmer, vice chairman of the charity Tourettes Action, said the BBC should have considered bleeping out the slur.
“This is really one of the most acute examples of where something that is a disability can cause quite understandably huge amounts of offense to someone,” he told Times Radio. “So, if it’s being prerecorded now, then bleeping it out, for example, might be a reasonable compromise.”
A completed British Academy Film Awards mask sits on a workbench at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A new minority Dutch coalition government took office Monday led by the Netherlands’ youngest-ever prime minister, who will have to use all his bridge-building skills to pass laws and see out a full four-year term in office.
Rob Jetten, 38, heads a three-party administration made up of his centrist D66, the center-right Christian Democrats and the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.
In a message on X, Jetten, who is the Netherlands’ first openly gay premier, said it was “an enormous honor to be able to get to work as prime minister.”
The parties together hold only 66 of the lower house of parliament’s 150 seats, so Jetten will have to negotiate with opposition lawmakers to find support for every piece of legislation his government wants to pass. The largest opposition bloc, the newly merged Green Left and Labor Party, has already signaled it will push for changes to some of Jetten's plans.
Jetten and his team of ministers were sworn in by King Willem-Alexander in the ornate Orange Hall of the royal palace in a forest on the edge of The Hague. The king wished the new government good luck “in uncertain times.”
A small group of demonstrators from the Extinction Rebellion environmental group protested outside the gates of the palace during the ceremony and sounded sirens as the new ministers lined up for a formal photo.
Following the traditional photo of the new Cabinet on the steps of the palace, the new government plans to begin work with its first Cabinet meeting in the afternoon.
The government was sworn in 117 days after national elections that Jetten’s party won by a narrow margin from the Party for Freedom led by anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. The final result was decided only after a count of postal ballots after the fourth national election since 2017 in the politically splintered Netherlands.
Jetten's new government took office a day before the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He has pledged to continue his country's strong support for Kyiv as it battles the forces of President Vladimir Putin.
Jetten also has said he will continue spending to beef up the Dutch military in times of geopolitical uncertainty.
Ministers of the new three-party minority government pose with King Willem-Alexander, center right, prime minster Rob Jetten, center left, and deputy prime minister Dilan Yesilgöz, front row right, on the steps of Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Ministers of the new three-party minority government pose with King Willem-Alexander, center right, prime minster Rob Jetten, center left, and deputy prime minister Dilan Yesilgöz, front row right, on the steps of Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Ministers of the new three-party minority government pose with King Willem-Alexander, center right, prime minster Rob Jetten, center left, and deputy prime minister Dilan Yesilgöz, front row right, on the steps of Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Rob Jetten,leader of the Democrats 66, D66, arrives to be sworn in as prime minister by King Willem-Alexander at Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
