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\n Photo: James McCauley\/Variety via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n
Alan Cumming<\/a> issued a second apology<\/a> for last week\u2019s BAFTAs<\/a> nightmare<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s now a week since I hosted the BAFTAs. What should have been an evening celebrating creativity as well as diversity and inclusion turned into a trauma triggering shitshow,\u201d he began in a statement posted on Instagram<\/a> on March 2. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry for all the pain Black people have felt at hearing that word echoed round the world. I\u2019m so sorry the Tourettes community has been reminded of the lack of understanding and tolerance that abounds regarding their condition.\u201d He then hoped that something positive could come from this incident. \u201cThe only possible good that could come of this is a reminder that words matter, that rushing to judgement about things of which we are not fully cognisant is folly, that all trauma must be recognised and honoured,\u201d he added. \u201cWe were all let down by decisions made to both broadcast slurs and censor free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n During the show, Tourette\u2019s advocate and inspiration for the movie,\u00a0I Swear,\u00a0John Davidson<\/a> shouted the N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delory Lindo when they were on stage; it was a tic from his Tourette\u2019s, and he left shortly after the incident. Alan Cumming, host of this year\u2019s BAFTAs, said a short apology on behalf of the show, which included an explanation of the condition: \u201cTourette\u2019s syndrome is a disability, and the tics you have heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette\u2019s syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you were offended.\u201d BAFTA reportedly warned<\/a> the BBC about the offensive language, and the BBC called the failure to remove the racial slur a \u201cserious mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Since last week, a judge<\/a> has left the BAFTAs, SNL<\/a> made a sketch about the incident that a Tourette\u2019s activist group called \u201cunacceptable,\u201d and Sinners<\/a>\u00a0star Jayme Lawson called the organization exploitative.<\/p>\n Below is Cumming\u2019s full statement and apology.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n