Two Israeli audience members were booed out of Reginald D Hunter’s comedy gig at the Edinburgh Fringe after they objected to a joke comparing the Jewish state to an abusive spouse, according to witnesses.
The American stand-up, 55, was heard telling two audience members to leave his Fluffy Fluffy Beavers show on Sunday night after they heckled him over the joke, calling it “not funny”.
The pair were met with jeers as they left the Assembly George Square Studios before Hunter then told a joke about the Jewish Chronicle website putting a review of one of his past shows behind a paywall, witnesses claimed.
The incident began when Hunter referenced a Channel 5 documentary titled My Wife, My Abuser, about an abusive partner who publicly claimed that her victim was guilty of abusing her.
Witnesses said Hunter told the audience: “When I saw that, I thought, my God, it’s like being married to Israel.”
Two people in the audience, who said they were Israeli in a subsequent exchange, objected to the joke, saying it was “not funny”.
A protracted exchange then followed in which Hunter asked the pair to leave, while they faced boos and calls to go from other members of the audience.
The comedian continued in their absence, recounting that he was once made aware that someone from the Jewish Chronicle would be watching his show for a review.
After the show, Hunter said his partner sought out the review, but could not access it online because of a paywall, saying: “Typical f—— Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.”
Met with laughter
Witnesses reported that the gag was met with laughter from the audience.
The Assembly Festival, which runs the venue where the incident took place, stated: “We are aware of an audience member choosing to leave Reginald D Hunter’s performance on Sunday Aug 11.
“The venue front of house team attended and supported the member of the public upon exiting.”
Hunter has been contacted for comment.
The incident comes after Soho Theatre in London banned comedian Paul Currie from the venue after a Jewish audience member was “hounded out” of a show in row over the Palestinian flag.
In the February 2024 show, Currie allegedly pulled out a Palestinian flag and shouted at an Israeli audience member to “get the f— out of here”, before leading chants of “Palestine will be free”.
The theatre investigated and chose to ban Currie for what it has termed “appalling” intimidation.
It said it would “not tolerate intimidation of audience members due to their nationality, race, religion or beliefs”.
Source Agencies
