‘I SWEAR we’re pals’ Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson and nightclub attack victim end film feud
Award-winning Netflix film I Swear portrays a 19-year-old John landing himself in court for assault in the 90s, blaming a tic for hitting a man on a night out.
John Davidson
Tourette’s activist John Davidson has told how he’s buried the hatchet with a man whose nose he broke outside a club after three decades – thanks to his hit movie.
Award-winning Netflix film I Swear portrays a 19-year-old John landing himself in court for assault in the 90s, blaming a tic for hitting a man on a night out. That man, Owen Jardine, reached out to John after watching the movie and the pair struck up a conversation after 35 years.
They told the Record yesterday how they have now been able to close the door on a difficult chapter in their teens. John, 55, said: “Having Tourette’s is difficult and when one of the tics involves causing injury or hurting somebody it’s always something I want to apologise for.
“I’ll never apologise for having Tourette’s but if it hurts someone emotionally or physically we live with the guilt of that. Owen Jardine kindly reached out to me about the incident. It’s something I’ve thought about many times over the years. We’ve talked back and forward last weekend.
Owen Jardine
“Upsetting his parents at the time, I’ve apologised for that as well. I’d like to thank him for his dignity and getting in touch so we’ve been able to get this sorted out. We’ve now both come to peace with what happened so that can only be positive. We have managed to break down barriers with the film and this is another one of the barriers we’ve brought down.”
Owen was standing outside Digby’s disco in Galashiels when John hit him in 1990. John was arrested and the case went to trial at Selkirk District Court. Owen was approached by John, who accused him and his friends of laughing at him, before striking him in the face.
John told the court the group had been “having a go” and he wanted to explain his condition, but lashed out involuntarily and hit Owen by mistake. Owen and another witness said they didn’t believe the alleged assault was involuntary. But the court also heard from a psychologist who explained John’s condition, which he had already spoken publicly about in a TV documentary.
Magistrate Arthur Groves found John not guilty, describing it as a “very unfortunate incident” and awarded Owen compensation. Owen, who now lives in Uphall, West Lothian, said he and his family felt he was treated unfairly at the time of the case, which he never wanted to bring to court.
The fight in a club was loosely based on an incident in the 90s involving Owen
He said: “I was only 17 and John was 19, we were both very young, but police came to my family home and spoke to my family and me and encouraged us to proceed. In the movie John has a tic and accidently punches a man’s pint out of his hand and they get into a fight. In reality, I didn’t strike him at any point. From John’s perspective, he felt that we were laughing at him, which upset him. I’ve always known that I didn’t do anything wrong.”
After watching I Swear, Owen approached producers over the dramatisation of the case involving him. The 53-year-old IT manager said: “I refused to watch the movie at first. I’d seen a clip and a trailer and thought ‘I don’t think I can watch this’. But family and friends said ‘you’ve got to see this’.
“The scene in the nightclub is not how it actually happened and what happened at the court has also been dramatised for the movie.
“I decided to get in touch with the production company but they said that while it was based on a true story it was open to creative licence and not intended to be a factual account of events. I just wanted to put closure to the whole thing so I thought I’d reach out to John.”
Owen got in touch with John via social media and was relieved to receive a positive reply. He said: “He shared his account of how events unfolded and apologised for confronting me outside the club. I’m now seeing it from a different angle and not through the eyes of a teenager.”
John Davidson and Robert Aramayo
John hit the headlines last month after he was heard shouting racial comments as the film inspired by his life story picked up a string of Baftas at the star-studded ceremony. John later released a statement apologising for any pain and upset caused and while critics slammed the handling of the incident, the campaigner received an outpouring of support.
John described what happened at the awards ceremony as a “similar situation” to what happened during his incident with Owen. He said of the fallout: “I didn’t want to upset anybody and I’ve had to try and process all that and work around it.”
Owen said that I Swear has now brought them both some long-overdue “closure”. He said: “I understand John has had far from an easy life and am glad to see he is much happier now. John said that he believes me when I said I didn’t laugh at him on the night, which is important to me, as this helps to draw a line under this.
“Before, my mum still couldn’t talk about what happened because she said I got portrayed so poorly. Speaking to John has helped give my mum and me closure so I am grateful to him for this.
“The actor in I Swear portrays John brilliantly – it’s a great film. I understand it’s a dramatisation and it’s doing a lot of good. John himself is also helping people, so I have no ill feeling toward him and wish him well.”
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