Comedian Reginald D Hunter has been reported to the police after he told an antisemitism campaigner on social media that he wanted to see her “and [her] kind ended”.
The London-based American stand-up, who joked about “typical f***ing Jews” after a British-Israeli couple were hounded out of his Edinburgh Fringe show in August, has frequently posted inflammatory comments about Jews and Zionists on social media.
Writing to Gaza hostage campaigner Heidi Bachram on Tuesday, he said: “Hey sugar. I don’t hate you for being an agent of evil. Not new. Not even uncommon.
“You being a liar, a persistent liar KNOWING the truth, is why I will see you and your kind ended, even if it costs me EVERYTHING. You are not even a JEW. Run tell that”, adding a kiss emoji.
A tweet from Reginald D Hunter[Missing Credit]
Sussex Police told Bachram the tweet “does not meet the threshold for malicious communication and therefore will be closed as a civil matter” after she flagged it to them on Tuesday night. They suggested Bachram contact X to have the post removed.
Speaking to the JC, Bachram said Hunter’s message seemed to be a personal threat and frightened her.
“It was late at night and I was the only person tagged and named,” she said, “He said it wasn’t about Jewish people – and I’m not Jewish – but using the phrase ‘your kind’ implied an ethnicity or identity. The word ‘ended’ felt deeply sinister. I was scared.”
In another, now-deleted message, also posted on Tuesday night, Hunter tagged Bachram, the JC, the Campaign Against Antisemitism and comedian Josh Howie and proclaimed he was “committed” to the destruction of people whom he accuses of “being European Nazis pretending to be JEWS”.
A tweet from Reginald D Hunter[Missing Credit]
Since making national headlines last month when he joked about “typical f***king Jews” on stage following an argument with a British-Israeli couple, Hunter has launched online tirades about Zionists, including retweeting posts from large, openly antisemitic X accounts.
Hunter stopped short of apologising for the Fringe show incident, referring to it as an “unfortunate incident” during which he was “pushing boundaries and creating humour”.
A number of venues cancelled performances by the 55-year-old after controversies – actions which Hunter blamed on “Zionists”.
Among a litany of offensive posts from the last month, Hunter said Zionism is “a danger to all who are not Zionist”, and reposted “there were no good Nazis, there are no good Zionists, it is a creed founded on the (very much mistaken) belief that Zionists are the master race and others are essentially cattle to serve them.”
In a statement, the Sussex Police told the JC they would be making further contact with Bachram to ensure “all relevant information has been considered”.
“Sussex Police is aware that the ongoing conflict in Israel and in Gaza is generating public concern and is impacting communities globally and locally, and we extend our support to those affected in Sussex.
We recognise there is the potential for increased tensions and are engaging with communities and partners to ensure people feel safe and protected.”
Sussex Police added that they “remain committed to ensuring any reported offences are fully investigated in line with relevant legislation,”
Hunter was approached via his management for comment.
