In a cut-for-time sketch from the Feb. 28 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” a parade of opportunistic cancelled celebrities used last week’s incident at the BAFTAs to blame their bad behavior and speech on Tourette syndrome.
During the Feb. 22 BAFTAs ceremony, John Davidson, a Tourette syndrome advocate who was attending to support the nominated biopic about his life, “I Swear,” was seated near the stage. His involuntary outbursts included a racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting, which led to Davidson apologizing and the BAFTAs expressing regret for not editing out the word on the original broadcast.
The “SNL” sketch featured a parade of celebrity impressions, which included Andrew Dismukes as Mel Gibson, Ashley Padilla as J. K. Rowling, show host Connor Storrie as Armie Hammer, Sarah Sherman as “Real Housewives” alum Jill Zarin, James Austin Johnson as Louis C.K., Kam Patterson as Ye, Kenan Thompson as Bill Cosby, and even “Weekend Update” anchor Michael Che jokingly playing himself.
“I too suffer from Tourette’s, which explains a lot of the things I’ve said or yelled through the years,” Dismukes-as-Gibson said. “Am I proud of what I said? No. But I am very proud for you to know that it was because of Tourette’s. Unfortunately, I’m not alone.”
“Hi cuties, I’m Armie Hammer, and not many people know this, but one of the most common side effects of Tourette’s is cannibalism,” Storrie said. “You could be casually DMing with a girl, and suddenly, the Tourette’s takes over, and you’re typing stuff like, ‘I’m literally going to eat you’, and she’s like, ‘Lol, what?’”
“Tourette’s isn’t just blurting out an offensive word; it can be a years-long obsession with something like trans rights, and a deep anger that someone who is born with a wand in their pants would want that wand removed and replaced with a Horcrux,” Padilla said. “But now you know, it was all the Tourette’s fault, and not a bet I made with Bill Belichick to see who could destroy their legacy faster.”
Watch the sketch below.