Comedian Matt Lucas has been targeted by a pro-Palestinian activist on the London Underground.
In a now-deleted video, the 51-year old Little Britain star was filmed and followed by Thomas Abdullah Bourne on the escalator of a London Tube station.
Mr Abdullah Bourne, known on social media as “White British Muslim”, was heard shouting “Free Palestine. Free Palestine, Matt Lucas.”
After initially attempting to hide his face, Lucas calmly acknowledges his pursuer at the top of the escalator and asks: “Hi, how are you?”
Mr Abdullah Bourne responds by saying “you don’t like what I’m wearing, do you?” in a reference to his keffiyeh, a black and white chequered scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
Lucas replies “no, I have no comment about it either way”, before the activist continues to ask whether the comedian has “a problem with Palestinians”.
Mr Abdullah Bourne is heard calling Lucas a Zionist before the video ends.
Both the video and the activist’s social media accounts appear to have been deleted.
Actor Matt Lucas on the London Underground as a free palestine activist says free palestine.. pic.twitter.com/PswPEliUVq
— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) February 15, 2026
On X, Lucas was praised for “handling the situation well”. Many dubbed the incident as “harassment”, adding it was “vile and abhorrent.”
Lucas is best known for his work on the comedy sketch shows Little Britain and Come Fly With Me, as well as being one of the most recent hosts of The Great British Bake Off.
It is not clear why Lucas was targeted, but many online have attributed the harassment to the comedian’s Jewish heritage.
Lucas has seldom publicly spoken of the conflict in the Middle East, but was a signatory to the “No Hostage Left Behind” open letter in October 2023. The letter was also signed by Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Justin Timberlake among other A-list celebrities.
The comedian has previously said he grew up in a Reform Jewish household but has described himself as “fairly secular”.
In BBC One’s Who Do You Think You Are, the star discovered his relatives had appeared in Anne Frank’s diary.
Last month, thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through central London, calling on the UK Government to stop supplying arms to Israel. Fourteen people were arrested, according to the Metropolitan Police.
