Romesh Ranganathan says wife received 'race traitor' message from online troll

Mixed · 2Comedian and Celebrity Traitors contestant Romesh Ranganathan, 48, has said his wife Leesa was sent an online message calling her a "race traitor" for marrying him. 1 2 Mixed · 2He made the remarks at a show in New Malden, south London; the Daily Mail says it was a small pub gig, with £18 tickets, to test material for his forthcoming tour, Romesh Ranganathan Will Change Your Life, which starts next month. 1 2 Right · 1Ranganathan said he gets racist messages online every day, and that this was the first racist message his wife, 47, had received on social media. 1

Right · 1He said the message, sent on Instagram, read: "You are a race traitor because you married one of them. You are no longer welcome among the whites." 1 Mixed · 2He said Leesa was incredibly upset, and that he joked in reply that she had "come over to the dark side" and should "cry those tears into the swimming pool". 1 2 Right · 1He also said he felt bad because, though it was not his fault, he was the reason she received the message. 1

Mixed · 2The couple met as teachers at Hazelwick School in Crawley, married in 2009 and have three sons, Alex, Theo and Charlie, whom they are raising in Crawley, West Sussex. 2 1 Mixed · 2Ranganathan has previously said his sons have faced racist abuse at school, including the P-word being said to Alex. He told his Wolf and Owl podcast it was less than he had experienced, and told another outlet he blamed the children's parents. 1 2 Right · 1He also recalled racism in his own past, including being spat on outside school and attacked by skinheads outside a club while at university. 1