Jewish couple reportedly hounded out of comedy show whilst audience members allegedly shout “genocidal maniac” at them

A Jewish Israeli couple was reportedly hounded out of comedian Reginald D. Hunter’s show on Sunday, whilst audience members were said to have shouted “genocidal maniac”, among other insults, at them. 

The show, which was part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, was described by a reporter for The Telegraph reviewing the performance as “the ugliest Fringe moment [he] had ever witnessed”. 

The alleged incident was sparked when Mr Hunter apparently made a joke in which he compared the State of Israel to an abusive wife, who, in a Channel 5 documentary, had accused her husband of being abusive. He is reported to have remarked: “My God, it’s like being married to Israel.”

The Jewish couple, who were in the front row of the audience and said that they were Israeli, responded by shouting “not funny” at the comedian. Audience members reportedly responded by shouting “genocidal maniac”, “you’re not welcome,” “f*** off” and “free Palestine” at the couple. 

It is understood that Mr Hunter responded to the couple, saying: “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…Look at you making everyone love Israel even more.”

After the couple left the show, Mr Hunter reportedly quipped: “That tells me that I still got voltage.”

This is not the first time that the comedian has courted controversy in relation to the Jewish community. In 2006, also during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, he received backlash after making a joke about Holocaust-denial. 

At Sunday’s performance, it is understood that he compared the moment to his 2006 controversy and made reference to being unable to access an article in a Jewish newspaper about the incident 

He is alleged to have said: “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.” 

He reportedly then added: “It’s just a joke.”

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The events described at the 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 [email protected].”