Baylen Dupree Defends John Davidsons Racial Slur

star and Tourette's sufferer Baylen Dupree has spoken out to defend John Davidson following his racial slur at the on Sunday night. 

John was heard shouting the N-word as actors Delroy Lindo and  presented the award for special visual effects at the prestigious awards in London. 

The BBC later apologised for not editing the offensive slur out of the delayed broadcast and John himself also released a statement of his own, saying he was 'deeply mortified if anyone considered my involuntary tics to be intentional or to carry any meaning'.

And taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Baylen addressed her 2.6million followers as she defended John's tics, saying 'tics are not thoughts' and are often what your brain is 'most scared of saying'. 

She penned: ''I need to speak on this as someone who lives with Tourette's.

'When you live with this disorder, you lose control of your own voice sometimes,' she continued, before going on to call that reality 'a terrifying thing.'

'Tics are not thoughts. They are not opinions. They are not secret beliefs hiding underneath the surface,' she continued. 'They are involuntary neurological impulses - like a sneeze or hiccup except sometimes they attach themselves to words that carry weight, history, and pain.'

She asked: 'Can you imagine how heartbreaking it is to say something you don't mean?'

Making it clear that what you say doesn't reflect your beliefs she continued: 'People think if a slur comes out, it must reflect what's in your heart,' she wrote. 'But Tourette's doesn't pull from hatred — it often pulls from anxiety, from fear, from the very thing you're most scared of saying. 

'The brain misfires on what feels charged or taboo.'

Acknowledging the hurt that the racial slur carries, she added: 'Words matter. History matters. Pain matters. But so does neurological reality. There is a difference between intent and impulse.'

'Living with Tourette's means constantly apologizing for something you didn't choose,' she penned. 

'It means living with the fear that one moment could define you forever. It means knowing that no matter how kind you are, no matter what you believe, one tic could make the world decide who you are. And that's devastating'. 

'You can hold space for the harm of a word while also holding space for the reality of a disorder. Compassion doesn't cancel accountability - but education matters.

'Please understand this: when someone with Tourette's says something offensive as a tic, it is not coming from their heart. It's coming from a brain that sometimes doesn't give them a choice.'

Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo present the Special Visual Effects Award on stage during the Bafta Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, when the slur was shouted out