Currie explained: “I am an artist against genocide... therefore my show Teet will upset those audience members who are pro genocide, and last night it did.
“Art is meant to divide & challenge & reflect the zeitgeist. I am performing at the ‘Fringe’ for a reason, it's in the name, it is on the periphery, it is not the mainstream. Ergo, it is not for everyone.
“There is an actual genocide happening right this second & for the last 10 months & 76 years. I am not NOT going to address this in my Edinburgh show. #FreePalestine.”
Comments under one of Currie's Instagram posts said he was banning Zionists from his Fringe show (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
In a post about "clownarchy”, Currie said he had “discovered just a few hours ago” that the Edinburgh Fringe was sponsored by Baillie Gifford, who he accused of investing “in pro genocide Israeli arms manufacturers.”
“So as a boycott on the Edinburgh fringe I will NOT be selling tickets through the fringe society but only through the stand comedy club in solidarity with occupied Palestine.”
On another post on social media, the comedian equated Zionism with Nazis, posting a cartoon swastika being thrown in the bin with the caption “Zionism = Nazism... it’s disgusting and must be condemned and stopped.”
One of Currie's Instagram posts said Zionists were Nazis (Photo: Instagram)[Missing Credit]
As his Fringe run ended, Currie thanked the Stand in Edinburgh, “For giving me a venue after JTT [Just The Tonic] dropped me because of the Soho bullsh*t.”
Currie was dropped by several venues after an incident at his show, Shtoom, in London’s Soho Theatre in February.
At the time, he was accused of inciting a “mob” against an Israeli audience member. Liahav Eitan, 33, and his friend refused to give Currie a standing ovation towards the end of his show after the comic compared a Ukrainian and Palestinian flag.
Currie picked them out and thanked them for not standing and clapping, to which Eitan replied: “Thank you for the Palestine flag.” According to Eitan, Currie proceeded to mumble “something about us ‘killing children.’
“Then he just turns back to me and starts screaming, ‘I’m from Belfast. I know about the ceasefire. Ceasefire now. Get the f*** out of my theatre. Get out, get the f*** out of my show, motherf***ers, get the f*** out of here.’”
“It felt like real mob mentality,” Eitan told the JC at the time.
Soho Theatre released a statement after the incident saying they “will not tolerate intimidation of audience members due to their nationality, race, religion or beliefs.
"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.
Currie did not apologise for his comments at the time and shared a post on Instagram asserting, “There was no antisemitic outburst”.
He later claimed he was “not allowed” to perform at Glastonbury after the incident.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Currie suggested he was still caught up in the incident from six months ago, writing “Soho Theatre must be boycotted! I’ve now raised enough money at the Fringe to take them fully to court.”
[Missing Credit]
Currie’s latest comments come as American comedian, Reginald D Hunter, mocked an Israeli-British couple who were hounded out of his Edinburgh Fringe show, Fluffy Fluffy Beavers.
When Hunter made a joke about an abusive wife: “My God, it’s like being married to Israel,” a man in the front row shouted, “Not funny”.
The couple said they were Israeli, and audience members proceeded to shout “f*** off”, “genocidal maniac”, “you’re not welcome” and “free Palestine.”
During the commotion, Hunter, 55, told the couple: “I’ve been waiting for you all summer, where the f*** you been?”
The Jewish man described the audience as “a baying mob” and the couple were forced to leave the auditorium as the crowd shouted at them.
Paul Currie and Reginald D Hunter have been approached by the JC for comment.
