Ed Kenkle

This woman - who was in the audience at the BAFTAs on Sunday evening - takes a fair and compassionate stance on the guest with Tourette's shouting a racial slur at two black actors. She provides important context: the audience had been briefed about John Davidson’s Tourette’s and his vocal tics had already been evident earlier in the evening. She also articulates something we don’t hear often enough. Words can cause discomfort. They can hurt. And they can do so for many reasons. But that alone does not make someone “wrong” or prove ill intent. Nor does it justify destroying someone’s reputation. Sometimes we have to hold two truths at once - that harm can be felt and that intent and context still matter. And sometimes we have to set aside our own feelings and consider the needs and vulnerabilities of others. A principle worth remembering in many areas of public life.