After activist John Davidson, who lives with Tourette syndrome, involuntarily shouted a racial slur at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo during the BAFTA film awards, Rena Zeno, associate professor of sociology, explains the stigma behind the condition in a piece for The Conversation.
A recent article in The Conversation by Rena Zito, associate professor of sociology at Elon University who lives with Tourette syndrome, is challenging widespread misconceptions about Tourette syndrome, particularly the belief that it commonly involves shouting curses or slurs.
At the BAFTA film awards in London on Feb. 22, 2026, John Davidson, whose life inspired the award-winning biopic “I Swear,” involuntarily shouted a racial slur during Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo’s speech. The incident has inspired intense coversation around Tourette syndrome and its symptoms.
Zito writes that “fewer than 1 in 5 people with Tourette’s experience taboo tics, such as coprolalia — involuntary obscene or offensive speech.” Despite this, pop culture has cemented the idea that swearing defines the condition. In reality, she explains, most tics are far more ordinary, including “eye blinking, shoulder shrugging, throat clearing or brief sounds.”
Coprolalia, the clinical term for involuntary swearing, affects only about 10–20% of people with Tourette syndrome. Even fewer individuals experience socially taboo words such as racial slurs. Yet these rare symptoms often dominate public perception and media portrayals.
A key misconception, Zito notes, is the belief that “tics reveal what people ‘really’ think and feel.” In fact, she emphasizes, “tics often compel people to say or do precisely what they most wish to avoid.” The neurological urges behind tics are involuntary and do not reflect a person’s beliefs, character or intentions.
Zito writes that “these socially inappropriate tics can draw unwanted attention and lead to exclusion, bullying, hostile encounters and barriers to employment.” The stigma can be as distressing — or more distressing — than the tics themselves.
Her article calls for greater public understanding of Tourette syndrome’s complexity. By recognizing that taboo tics are uncommon and involuntary, communities can move beyond stereotypes and toward empathy, ensuring people with Tourette’s “need understanding and support to participate fully and safely in public life.”
Read Zeto’s full piece in The Conversation.