Says Fringe comedian Benjamin Bello after he was abused three times in 10 days

The Edinburgh Fringe has become a more racist place to visit, one of its performers has said

Comedian Benjamin Bello, who performs in the guise of comedy dictator President Obonjo, said he experienced three racial incidents during his ten-day run – something he never experienced previously.

Twice he was told to ‘go back to your country’ by people, while in the third case, a woman repeatedly said she couldn’t see him the dark. They all occurred in public places, and in two cases fellow comedians intervened.

In the most aggressive case, stand-up Daphna Baram called the police after no other customers or staff in the cafe where they were eating stepped in. Bello said: ‘It was like no one knows how to respond when these incidents happen.’

Another of the incidents took place outside a  pub, where again the security officer did nothing. 

Bello – who has been coming the Fringe on and off since 2015 – said: ‘It is exhausting to have to deal with incidents  like this, not only as it is happening but then to raise awareness afterwards.

‘Black acts should not be racially abused for visiting Edinburgh to make locals and tourists laugh.

‘These incidents will never stop me from coming to Edinburgh. I have never experienced any racist incidents here before, but this year felt strange. Perhaps they are  isolated incidents but it needs to be addressed.

‘Black acts visiting the city need to be aware there is an increase in racial incidents, apart from  getting ready to protect ourselves  we do need more allies  to act when they witness these incidents.’

According to Scotland’s Crown Office a total of 3,145 charges relating to race crime were reported last year, a decrease of 2 per cent on the previous 12 months and  31 per cent down on the 2011 peak. However this only accounts for case which led to a criminal charge.

Published: 23 Aug 2023