Liz Riesterer

Co-Founder & Co-Head at @theincreativeco.
Probably stressed about @michiganstateu sports.

[Freddie 🌻 @FreddieChenn]

The Met Gala is to fund the arts, the theme is ���Fashion is Art’ and y’all are using generative AI to create shit from a butt

[Nora Dominick @noradominick]

i've been watching grey's anatomy live every week for 16 years and i knew if i tried hard enough i would outlast owen hunt. never give up on your dreams

[୨ৎ @TECHN0BOYTOY]

watch a very potter musical instead

[Janel Comeau 🍁 @VeryBadLlama]

No, by law we're actually required to live in bungalows.

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

I genuinely hope people have been able to learn more about Tourette’s throughout this. It benefits not just me or John Davidson, but all individuals with the disorder, especially the most marginalized.

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

I’m exhausted.

[IndieWire @IndieWire]

John Davidson Says He Was Told Swearing Would Be Cut from BAFTA Awards Broadcast and Questions Decision to Seat Him Near a Microphone https://t.co/7SGcindrJc

[America The Ghetto @Lizzurr]

John Davidson’s mother is on film having to call the police ahead of time because his Tourette’s caused him to get into verbal disputes with the police. What the fuck do you think happens if a black man with Tourette’s is this same situation? Awareness is seriously needed.

[Emma Dolan @JustMissEmma]

I really want to say something about the #BAFTA incident. Been trying to stay neutral but the backlash and media coverage is just heavy on my heart.

It’s so important to hold space for recognition and empathy towards those who understandably feel offended, hurt, and upset at such a shocking hateful word used. Your pain and anger should ALWAYS deserve to be addressed.

HOWEVER… it’s not ok to be ableist and try to make it seem like a disabled person has a choice.

#Corprolalia is a serious and debilitating condition, that devastates lives of those that live with it. I can’t begin to imagine just how hurt and sad he’s feeling right now at the backlash that he somehow had a choice. He didn’t.

Ultimately, the #BBC and BAFTA handled this dreadfully, and the fault lies with them, NOT John.

Please, be kind to those who are openly speaking out at how upsetting it was to hear such a terrible word… and equally, recognise that responding with actions of hatred and racism allegations towards John is simply misplaced anger at an already severely disabled person who had no control over their actions.

We absolutely have the capacity to hold space and acknowledge BOTH sides to this.

They’re equally deserving of that.

#ISwear

[Albie @albieamankona]

I’m dealing with a family emergency, so I won’t be doing broadcast interviews on the John Davidson Tourette’s tic at the BAFTAs story.

Hearing the N word shouted at two of the most successful black actors in the world, on stage at the BAFTAs and broadcast on the BBC, was horrible. It made people uncomfortable. It should have. But it was an involuntary tic from someone who lives with Tourette’s syndrome. It was not chosen. It was not intentional. It was not an expression of belief.

What’s astonishing is watching people who constantly lecture the public about inclusion suddenly abandon it the moment it becomes complicated. The same voices that demand respect for lived experience are now acting as if a neurodivergent man consciously decided to shout a slur for sport.

Tourette’s is a neurological condition. It is not a political statement. It is not a moral failing. You cannot preach DEI and then punish someone for symptoms of their neurodivergence.

Even the Royal Household has previously understood Davidson’s condition. Not even the late Queen was immune to his tics he said “F*ck the Queen” TO HER FACE. If that reality can be accepted there, it should not be beyond the rest of us.

Two things can be true at once. The word is abhorrent. The tic was involuntary. If your commitment to inclusion collapses when it involves neurodivergence, then it was never inclusion in the first place.

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

Better than me though, one of the best parts to come from the situation are the POC with Tourettes that have had their voices amplified in the aftermath as there is nuance in this situation, and they can speak on the intersectionality. I encourage you to seek them out.

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

As a BAFTA member and individual with Tourette Syndrome, I have many thoughts on yesterday’s incident at the ceremony. If you have questions regarding the realities of Tourettes, I am happy to be another voice available to answer and educate.

[Lil Ith @lilithulyanov]

Black neurodivergent people are more likely to be harmed because of the intersection of their identities. Learning about Tourettes doesn't just benefit the white man who is at the centre of this controversy but it also benefits BIPOC folks who also struggle with it.

[Variety @Variety]

BAFTA and the BBC failed Michael B. Jordan, Delroy Lindo, the Tourette's community and viewers when they allowed the N-word to be aired during the BAFTA Film Awards ceremony.

With a tape delay, this moment could have been handled differently. The audio could have been muted in the broadcast. The segment could have been edited. Instead, the slur went out. And now it lives online — free to be clipped, circulated, divorced from explanation and used as shorthand outrage. Or worse, it can be used to spread hate. https://t.co/7RYqGI5zLO

[e.j. 💫 @missejlee]

Sooo a lot less people than I originally thought understand the concept of tourettes syndrome… that makes me sad

[5hahem @shaTIRED]

Tourette’s is a disability AND we’re not going to ignore how painful racism is. I don’t get why that’s so hard to hold at the same time

[Sophie 〓〓 @soupyferns]

Compassion is an unlimited resource! Here you can have it for all three people involved, and not for one at the expense of another

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

@Amyamylloyd @TheAfrocentricI He yelled several times thoughout the broadcast, not just this one instance. This is just the one being highly publicized.

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

@ladidaix @BuzzingPop Yes, several other people were at the receiving end of his tics. Some of these instances can be read about in the article.

https://t.co/8zuy49j8WG

[Liz Riesterer @LizRiesterer]

@WandaSpeaks67 @americanreqiuem @OritzBlue He shouted other things out several times throughout the ceremony, some of which can be detailed in the article

https://t.co/8zuy49j8WG

[Josh Billinson @jbillinson]

The Naboo royal court putting up ‘96 Chicago Bulls numbers