Saturday Night Live is under fire for a sketch that poked fun at the Bafta N-word incident, with a leading Tourette syndrome (TS) charity calling it “horrific.”
Filmed in the style of an informational public service announcement, the segment featured SNL cast members as public figures explaining that their controversial comments were because of TS. The sketch was cut for time on Saturday night’s NBC show but was uploaded to YouTube shortly after.
“I’m Mel Gibson, and as I probably should have pointed out decades ago, I too suffer from Tourette’s, which explains a lot of the things I’ve said or yelled through the years,” said Andrew Dismukes, dressed as the American actor. “Fortunately, I’m not alone.”
“Now you know it was all the Tourette’s fault,” said Ashley Padilla, dressed as JK Rowling.
Episode host Connor Storrie played actor Armie Hammer and said: “Not a lot of people know this, but one of the most common side effects is cannibalism.”
“This is not acceptable,” said the Tourettes Action CEO, Emma McNally, in a statement to Deadline. “Mocking a disability is never acceptable. It would not be tolerated for any other condition, and it should not be tolerated by people with Tourette’s.”
The sketch sent up this February’s Baftas N-word controversy, where John Davidson, the inspiration for the movie I Swear, could be heard shouting the racial slur while Sinners actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting the award for special visual effects.
“I can’t begin to explain how upset and distraught I have been,” Davidson later said. “My tics are not an intention, not a choice and not a reflection of my values.”
Tourettes Action’s McNally echoed his words in her statement. “Tourette’s is a complex neurological condition, of which there is no cure. It is not a joke. It is not a personality trait. It is not a source of entertainment. It is a condition that can be extremely debilitating, causing pain isolation and huge amounts of discrimination.
“Videos and posts that deliberately misrepresent or sensationalise tics set us back years. A single video can undo the progress our community has spent years building toward greater awareness.”
After the sketch was posted to YouTube on 1 March, others were quick to criticize Saturday Night Live.
Comedian Al Murray branded the skit as “vile” and “disgusting” in posts on X, adding: “The problem with the ‘punch up punch down’ thing is what if you’re upside down.”
The disability rights campaigner and A Different Man actor Adam Pearson also voiced his dismay. “As a long term lover of SNL I am truly disappointed at this one,” he said. “The media elites who often advocate for kindness and acceptance (a camp I very much put myself in) are failing to do so here. This isn’t satire, it’s punching down. SNL can be, should be and are better than this.”
“We were rightly appalled when Trump mocked a disabled person,” said former Member of Scottish Parliament Joan McAlpine in reference to a 2015 event. “So why is it different when SNL mocks people with Tourette’s? Is bigotry acceptable if it’s wrapped in “progressive” credentials?”
British actor James Dreyfus, star of HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, said: “Good grief. Only goes to show that ‘regime comedians’ are as desperately unamusing, cringeworthy, pig-ignorant & prejudiced as they are over here.”
Over the weekend, the NAACP Image awards also poked fun at the Bafta controversy and Davidson. At the Los Angeles ceremony, host Deon Cole said: “If there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette’s, I advise you to tell them they’d better read the room tonight.”
Piers Morgan responded: “Hollywood continuing to mock John Davidson over his Tourette’s condition is one of the most despicable things I’ve witnessed in a long time. Shame on @deoncole and all those in the audience who laughed at his vile ‘jokes’. What the f*ck is wrong with you???!!!”
McNally concluded her statement to Deadline with a plea for empathy for those who live with TS. “The trolling and harassment members of our community have endured in the past few days has been horrific,” she wrote. “People have been targeted with threats and humiliation simply for having a condition they did not choose. No one should ever be treated that way.”
