Police probe report of hate incident at Reginald Hunter gig

Officers are looking into a report of a “hate incident” at a Reginald D Hunter comedy gig where it is claimed that two Israelis were heckled out of his event by the audience.

The US comedian, 55, issued a statement on Thursday, saying he regretted an “unfortunate incident” at his Edinburgh Festival Fringe show.

When asked about his gig, a Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We have been made aware of a hate incident, which reportedly took place at an event in Edinburgh on Sunday August 11. We are reviewing the circumstances.”

Hunter, 55, was performing his stand-up show Fluffy Fluffy Beavers on Sunday night, when the pair were heckled by others in the audience at the Assembly George Square Studios in Edinburgh.

Hunter had mentioned how a Channel 5 documentary on domestic abuse had prompted him to think: “My God, it’s like being married to Israel.”

The man and woman – who were sitting in the front row – told Hunter the joke was “not funny” and were themselves Israeli, before facing the wrath of other audience members.

According to audience member Dominic Cavendish, chief theatre critic for The Telegraph, the “ugliest Edinburgh Fringe moment ever” then unfurled.

In a scathing review of the performance, he wrote: “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.”

The couple eventually left the venue as Hunter is said to have “openly laughed” at them, while the audience continued to heckle as they exited the hall.

After the couple left on Sunday night, the comedian referred to that incident and took aim at the Jewish Chronicle — which he was trying to access around the time of the controversy — being behind a paywall. “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe,” he jested. It’s just a joke,” he swiftly added.

The CST said the comedian had gone beyond the “bounds of acceptable comedy”.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the reports of the Georgia-born comedian’s event are “extremely concerning”.

Hunter posted a statement on his social media accounts saying: “There was an unfortunate incident in my new show Fluffy Fluffy Beaver. As a comedian, I do push boundaries in creating humour, it’s part of my job. This inevitably created divided opinions but I am staunchly anti-war and anti-bully. I regret any stress caused to the audience and venue staff members.”.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote on X that “comedians are rightly given broad latitude, but they also have a responsibility to their audience”.