SNL satirises BAFTAs tourette’s controversy as Connor Storrie leads polarising sketch

'One of the most common side effects of Tourette’s is cannibalism,' Storrie's Armie Hammer joked

NBC’s Saturday Night Live addressed one of the week’s biggest headlines — the BAFTA Awards incident in which Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson involuntarily shouted a racial slur — with a cut-for-time, PSA-style sketch hosted by Connor Storrie. The segment, titled “Tourette’s,” featured a parade of celebrity impersonations exaggerating the idea that famous figures could attribute past misdeeds to the neurological disorder.

The Real Housewives of New York star Jill Zarin, played by Sarah Sherman, quipped, “I suffer from severe longwinded monologue-style Tourette’s, a condition that affects nine out of 10 people on Long Island.”

Armie Hammer, portrayed by Storrie, added, “Not many people know this, but one of the most common side effects of Tourette’s is cannibalism.” J.K. Rowling, impersonated by Ashley Padilla, chimed in, “Tourette’s isn’t just blurting out an offensive word. It can be years-long obsession with something like trans life and a deep anger that someone who was born with a wand in their pants would want that one removed and replaced with a Horcrux.”

Kenan Thompson reprised his Cosby impersonation, with the disgraced comedian claiming he suffered from “something called the drink Tourette’s,” while Ye admitted to having “three different kinds of Tourette’s.” The sketch concluded with a nod to the real BAFTA incident, spoofing it as “brought to you by National Workforce of Rethinking Disabilities, or N.W.O.R.D.”

The original BAFTA controversy occurred when Davidson shouted the N-word at presenters Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan during the ceremony. Alan Cumming, the event’s host, later apologised for the “strong language,” noting it was a result of “involuntary tics.”