SNL Sketch Satirizing Tourette's at BAFTA Faces Backlash

A Saturday Night Live sketch released online has sparked widespread criticism for satirizing a recent incident at the British Academy Film Awards, where a Tourette syndrome advocate involuntarily shouted a racial slur during the ceremony. The comedy bit, cut from the show's February 28 episode for time constraints, features impersonations of celebrities attributing their past controversies to the neurological disorder.

The original event unfolded on February 22 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, where John Davidson, a Scottish campaigner living with Tourette syndrome since age 12, attended to support the film "I Swear," a biopic depicting his experiences with the condition. During the awards, Davidson's involuntary tics became audible to the audience. While actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the Best Visual Effects award, he shouted the N-word. Earlier, during BAFTA chair Sara Putt's speech, he uttered "shut the fuck up," and he directed "fuck you" toward the directors of the Best Children's and Family Film winner, "Boong."

Tourette syndrome involves sudden, uncontrollable tics, including vocal outbursts known as coprolalia, which can include socially...