Israeli theatregoers were reportedly booed out of stand-up gig by American Reginald D Hunter after objecting to a joke comparing the Jewish state to an abusive spouse.
The 55-year-old, who has appeared on various BBC shows, was heard telling the two Edinburgh Fringe audience members to leave his Fluffy Fluffy Beavers show on Monday night.
Antisemitism campaigners described the incident as a “sickening low that cannot be disguised as comedy”.
The pair were met with jeers as they left the Assembly George Square Studios before Hunter told a joke about the Jewish Chronicle website putting a review of one of his past shows behind a paywall, witnesses said.
The incident began when Hunter referenced a Channel 5 documentary about domestic abuse.
He reportedly told the audience: “When I saw that, I thought, my God, it’s like being married to Israel.”
While the gag sparked laughter from the audience, a couple on the front row, who said they were Israeli, objected saying it was “not funny”.
They were sworn at, called “genocidal” and told, “You’re not welcome” by fellow spectators some of whom shouted “Free Palestine”.
In a review, Dominic Cavendish, chief theatre critic for The Telegraph - who was in the audience when the furore erupted - called it the “ugliest Edinburgh Fringe moment ever”.
The events described at the Edinburgh Fringe are extremely concerning.
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) August 12, 2024
Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but they also have a responsibility to their audience.
Reginald D. Hunter has laughed off his Holocaust jokes and another supposed joke about “typical f***ing… pic.twitter.com/BDUp1qlDPk
Awarding the show one star, Cavendish said: “The pair, who said they were from Israel, then endured their fellow audience members shouting expletives (‘f*** off’ among them), and telling them to go – with slow-hand claps, boos and cries of ‘genocidal maniac’, ‘you’re not welcome’ and ‘Free Palestine’ part of the toxic mix.”
Rather than pulling the audience up for their animosity towards the hecklers, Hunter apparently doubled down saying to them: “I’ve been waiting for you all summer, where the f*** you been?
“You can say it’s not funny to you, but if you say it to a room full of people who laughed, you look foolish.”
According to Cavendish, the Israeli women “remonstrated with the audience”, to which Hunter responded: “Look at you making everyone love Israel even more.”
The comedian continued in their absence, recounting that he was once told the Jewish Chronicle would be reviewing his show.
After the show, Hunter said his partner sought out the review, but could not access it online because of a paywall, saying: “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe. It’s just a joke.”
A Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesman posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The events described at Edinburgh Fringe are extremely concerning.
“Comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but they also have a responsibility to their audience.
“Reginald D Hunter has laughed off his Holocaust jokes and another supposed joke about ‘typical f***ing Jews’ in the past, but watching on and cracking jokes as Jews are hounded out of your show is a sickening low that cannot be disguised as comedy.
“We have seen this before in recent months, and venues must stand extremely firm against this kind of behaviour.
“Our lawyers are examining this incident and we urge anyone who was present at the show to contact us in confidence at investigations@antisemitism.org.”
The Standard contacted Hunter for comment.
