Baylen Dupree Defends John Davidson After Shocking BAFTA Incident — “Can You Imagine How Heartbreaking It Is to Say Something You Don’t Mean?”
Baylen Dupree Defends John Davidson After Shocking BAFTA Incident — “Can You Imagine How Heartbreaking It Is to Say Something You Don’t Mean?”
Baylen Dupree, the eponymous star of TLC’s Baylen Out Loud, the biggest freshman cable hit last year, is a young woman who suffers from Tourette syndrome.
Dupree knows a thing or two about how the disease is perceived, and she has used her platform to defend John Davidson, the subject of the movie I Swear, after the Tourette’s sufferer and campaigner could be heard shouting various expletives throughout the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony Sunday in London.
“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. And that is a terrifying thing,” Dupree wrote Tuesday on social media. “Tics are not thoughts. They are not opinions. They are not secret beliefs hiding underneath the surface. They are involuntary neurological impulses – like a sneeze or a hiccup except sometimes they attach themselves to words that carry weight, history and pain. Can you imagine how heartbreaking it is to say something that you don’t mean?”
“Living with Tourette’s means constantly apologizing for something you didn’t choose. 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.”
There has been much fallout in the UK after the incident, which included Davidson shouting the N-word when Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented an award.
BAFTA has started a “comprehensive review” and the BBC is facing criticism for leaving up a version of the ceremony on iPlayer in which the racial slur was audible for 15 hours before it was taken down.
Baylen Out Loud, which premiered in January 2025, chronicles 22-year-old Dupree’s struggles with various extreme and uncontrollable vocal and motor tics as she challenges herself to become an independent adult and move out of her parents’ home. She was diagnosed with Tourette’s at age 18 and has used humor to navigate through life. With 9.5 million followers on TikTok, Dupree has garnered a loyal audience who admires her openness in sharing how she leverages the power of positivity and her strong relationships to navigate life’s challenges.
The series, which also stars Dupree’s five siblings, her boyfriend Colin, her father Allen, and her mother Julie, is produced by Michael Levitt Productions.
It was quickly renewed by TLC for a second season and became both the No. 1 freshman series among adults and women 25-54 in primetime.
Baylen Out Loud, which premiered in January 2025, chronicles 22-year-old Dupree’s struggles with various extreme and uncontrollable vocal and motor tics as she challenges herself to become an independent adult and move out of her parents’ home. She was diagnosed with Tourette’s at age 18 and has used humor to navigate through life. With 9.5 million followers on TikTok, Dupree has garnered a loyal audience who admires her openness in sharing how she leverages the power of positivity and her strong relationships to navigate life’s challenges.
The series, which also stars Dupree’s five siblings, her boyfriend Colin, her father Allen, and her mother Julie, is produced by Michael Levitt Productions.
It was quickly renewed by TLC for a second season and became both the No. 1 freshman series among adults and women 25-54 in primetime.
In a lengthy statement on Instagram Tuesday, Dupree claimed the neurodevelopmental disorder “doesn’t pull from hatred.”
