Romesh Ranganathan has revealed that his wife, Leesa, has been targeted with racist abuse on Instagram, leaving her "incredibly upset." The Celebrity Traitors star, 48, is currently appearing on the BBC One programme, which airs episode nine tonight ahead of tomorrow's final.
Abuse directed at wife
Romesh said Leesa received a message on Instagram that read: "You are a race traitor because you married one of them. You are no longer welcome among the whites." He described her reaction, saying: "She was incredibly upset, and I said, 'Here's my advice: look at our house. You've come over to the dark side, and it's working pretty f***ing well for you. Cry those tears into the swimming pool.'"
The comedian acknowledged that the abuse is linked to him, stating: "I am the reason that Leesa received that message. She is upset now because she is married to me. That's not a nice thing to contend with." He added that had Leesa married a "white guy," she wouldn't face such abuse, but joked: "She also wouldn't have a pool."
Family experiences racism
Romesh, who said he receives racist messages on a daily basis, also discussed how his sons Alex, Theo, and Charlie have faced racism growing up. Speaking on his Wolf and Owl podcast with co-host Tom Davis, he said: "Not loads, not as much as I did, but they have had comments."
He recounted an incident where one of his children was told by another child: "I don't know why you're bothering to chat to her. You're going to end up marrying your cousin." Alex has also been subjected to having the P-word said to him at school.
Comedian's response
Romesh placed some blame on parents, saying: "At a certain point you've got to go 'They're obviously hearing that at home'. So whenever I see that or I hear that a kid's done it, the next time I see their parents I'm thinking 'you're racist', right? And that's a horrible thing."
He added that while "racism is horrible and abhorrent," he thinks it's a "mistake to supercharge it." He explained: "What I mean by that is if somebody calls you a racial slur and it immediately ignites you, it gives that person power over you. I'm not saying you shouldn't react to racism, but I'm saying that immediately leading you to be violent is not something I want my kids to do." Romesh's mum, Shanthi, moved from Sri Lanka to Crawley aged 19 with his late dad, Ranga.
