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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Robert Dex

Comedian Paul Currie breaks silence over 'antisemitism' claims after Soho Theatre gig

Comedian Paul Currie has asked fans who were at his controversial Soho Theatre gig to come forward after the venue barred him over accusations of antisemitism.

The Northern Irish performer broke his silence and appealed on Instagram for “eye witness accounts” of what happened last Saturday when he was accused of having “hounded” Jewish audience members out of his show.

Currie thanked fans who contacted the theatre in his support and said he was “humbled and grateful” for the messages of support and asked any of them who were at the show to “send me their statement of what they saw” telling them “the truth is coming out”.

Israeli Liahev Eitan was allegedly told to “get the f*** out” as Currie encouraged the crowd to chant “free Palestine”.

The IT worker claimed he feared Currie was going to “punch” him and criticised the audience’s “mob mentality”.

In a statement earlier this week, the theatre said: “Such appalling actions are unacceptable and have no place on our stages, now or ever. We will not be inviting Paul Currie back to perform at our venue.

“Whilst we robustly support the right of artists to express a wide range of views in their shows, intimidation of audience members, acts of antisemitism or any other forms of racism will not be tolerated at Soho Theatre.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “What the Jewish audience members have recounted is atrocious, and we are working with them and our lawyers to ensure that those who instigated and enabled it are held to account.

“These allegations are of deeply disturbing discriminatory abuse against Jews. Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but hounding Jews out of theatres is reminiscent of humanity’s darkest days, and must have no place in central London in 2024.”

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