Alan Cumming has made up his mind that he will never host the BAFTAs again before the 2026 ceremony became an “international scandal”.
Cheat The hosts took to the stage to host the awards ceremony in London on 22 February, but the show was hit by controversy after Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson, whose life inspired the acclaimed film I swear, While Sinners co-stars Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan were presenting awards on stage, he inadvertently uttered the N-word.
Now host Allen, who had to apologize during the ceremony, has admitted he was fed up with the job before even taking the stage, telling The Sunday Times newspaper, “Just before it started, I said to my agent: ‘Remind me, I never want to do this again.'”
He told the publication that his travel plans had fallen through and there was no food available during rehearsals, adding, “And it’s a tough schedule. You’re trying to be funny to a group of people who are used to very normal, in-between things, so you’re fighting against the quirky personality that they want you to bring to it. It’s a battle.”
Allen also insisted that he was not impressed with how BAFTA bosses handled the N-word controversy, insisting that they could have done more to prepare him before the event.
He said, “It was an international scandal… I had a thing in my ear and you obviously can’t hear what’s going on. I haven’t actually asked them, but I don’t think even Delroy and Michael B. Jordan would have heard the actual abuse, they were probably just, like: ‘Okay, someone in the audience is yelling.'”
Allen admitted, “I saw myself coming back (reading the apology on stage). I was smiling a lot, if I had known I would have used it in the seriousness and tone I did, I wouldn’t have done it. It embarrassed me,” Allen admitted.
He added, “It was bad, bad, bad, bad leadership. Bad people who weren’t doing their jobs properly, who didn’t really prepare and let people down…”
“They just said: ‘There will be noise’ You could say they didn’t know (what might happen), but they obviously did, because apparently John had said the N-word at a party the day before. They were thinking about yelling at me during the dress rehearsal to see what I would do, but they didn’t.”
Following the BAFTA ceremony, the awards show’s bosses issued an apology, while Allen also shared a statement on social media, labeling the event a “traumatizing s*** show”.
He wrote: “It’s now been a week since I hosted the BAFTAs. “What should have been an evening celebrating creativity as well as diversity and inclusion turned into a shock-inducing show*** show.
The host further wrote, “I am so sorry for the pain black people felt hearing that word echo around the world. I am so sorry that the Tourette community has been reminded of the lack of understanding and tolerance regarding their condition.”
Allen continued, “The only possible good thing that can come from this is a reminder that words matter, that it is foolish to rush to judgment about things we are not fully aware of, that all trauma should be recognized and honored.”
The actor concluded his statement by acknowledging that the BBC’s televising was wrong in the moment, adding, “We were all disappointed by the decisions made to broadcast abuse and censor free speech.
Alan Cumming concluded, “Congratulations to all the artists whose work was affected by the night’s events.”
