Baylen Dupree says Tourette's 'doesn’t pull from hatred' as she defends John Davidson over yelling racial slur during BAFTAs

A TV star who has Tourette's has defended John Davidson after he faced criticism for shouting a racist slur during the BAFTAs.

Baylen Dupree, from TLC's Baylen Out Loud, was diagnosed with the condition when she was just 17 years old and has spoken out about the 'terrifying' disorder.

Tourette's causes people to make sudden, repetitive sounds or movements. Up to 30 percent of people with the condition have coprolalia, which makes them involuntarily shout obscenities and inappropriate remarks.

During Sunday night's (February 22) awards ceremony, Davidson, who was in attendance for his BAFTA-nominated movie I Swear, about his life with the condition, shouted the N word while Sinners actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the Special Visual Effects Award on stage.

The actors paused briefly after the remark was heard, before continuing with their presentation.

BAFTAs host Alan Cummings issued an apology during the show after the slurs were picked up on camera.

But the incident still sparked backlash online and prompted the BAFTA Film Awards to be removed from BBC iPlayer.

Taking to Instagram, Dupree weighed in on the discourse with a lengthy statement, beginning: “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."

She explained that were neither 'thoughts' nor 'opinions' nor '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?”

She continued: “To hear a word come out of your own mouth and feel immediate shame? To want to crawl out of your own body because your brain betrayed you?

"People think if a slur comes out, it must reflect what’s in your heart. 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."

She added that the brain 'misfires on what feels charged or taboo,' noting that it 'doesn't excuse the hurt' a word can carry.

"Words matter. History matters. Pain matters. But so does neurological reality," she said. "There is a difference between intent and impulse."

The 23-year-old concluded: “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.”

Since the backlash, Davidson says he has reached out to Jordan and Delroy to personally apologise for the comment, as Variety reports.

The campaigner, from Scotland, highlighted that the N word wasn't the only offensive tic he'd blurted out during the BAFTAs.

"I am often triggered by what I see and/or what I hear, and this part of the condition is called echolalia.

"For example, when the chair of BAFTA started speaking on Sunday, I shouted, 'Boring.'

"On Sunday, Alan Cumming joked about his own sexuality and, when referencing Paddington Bear, said, 'Maybe you would like to come home with me, Paddington. It wouldn’t be the first time I have taken a hairy Peruvian bear home with me.'

"This resulted in homophobic tics from me and led to a shout of 'pedophile' that was likely triggered because Paddington Bear is a children’s character."

Explaining even further about his condition, Davidson said: "Tourette’s can feel spiteful and searches out the most upsetting tic for me personally and for those around me.

"What you hear me shouting is literally the last thing in the world I believe; it is the opposite of what I believe."

"The most offensive word that I ticked at the ceremony, for example, is a word I would never use and would completely condemn if I did not have Tourette’s," he added.