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In this episode, I examine the recent BAFTA awards controversy in which a racial slur was involuntarily shouted during an award presentation by John Davidson, an advocate who lives with a form of Tourette’s syndrome known as coprolalia. Rather than approach the situation through outrage or social media reaction, I look at it through the lens of moral philosophy, particularly Stoicism.

The central issue is moral responsibility. Stoic ethics — like most serious ethical systems — holds that a person can only be morally responsible for what lies within their rational control. In Stoic terms, this is what the Greeks called eph’ hēmin, “what is up to us.” If an action is involuntary and cannot be governed by reason or assent, it cannot be classified as a vice or a moral wrongdoing.

Tourette’s vocal tics fall into that category. Just as we would not morally blame someone for sneezing or having a seizure, we cannot blame someone for involuntary speech produced by a neurological condition. The event may be disruptive or distressing for those present — and in this case it understandably carried painful historical and emotional weight — but that does not transform it into a moral offense.

I also discuss why the expectation of an apology is complicated in this case. While we often apologize for minor involuntary disruptions as a social courtesy, apologizing for something like a Tourette’s tic could unintentionally reinforce the mistaken idea that the person had moral control over the event. For someone who has spent years advocating for public understanding of the condition, that creates a difficult tension.

From a Stoic perspective, the key principle remains clear: moral blame attaches only to voluntary actions governed by reason. Because this event was not within John Davidson’s control, it cannot be treated as a vice or wrongdoing on his part.

In fact, the real injustice arises when someone is blamed for something that lies entirely outside their rational control. The rest of us, meanwhile, are simply presented with an opportunity to respond with understanding, restraint, and philosophical clarity.

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