Benjamin Bello
- Comedian
Press clippings
Arrest after President Obonjo subjected to racial abuse
A man has been arrested after a comedian was subjected to a barrage of racial abuse on stage, causing the gig to be halted. Benjamin Bankole Bello, who performs as spoof African dictator President Obonjo, was reportedly heckled with racial slurs by a group of 12 men when he played at the West End Comedy Club in London on Monday night.
Chortle, 4th April 2024'President of Africa' cleared by Reuters of US invasion threat to support Trump
Last week, I blogged here about the fact that the Reuters news agency was investigating - for a second time - whether 'President Obonjo' (aka comedian Benjamin Bello) really is the president of an African country. In fact, this time, the worrying suspicion was that he is actually the President of the whole of Africa and that he had threatened to invade the US in support of Donald Trump. Reuters have today - presumably after a week of detailed research and fact-checking - come up with their conclusion...
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 14th March 2024Tim Harding's comedy diary
Call me an auteurist, but there's something quite satisfying about a takeover event, where a particular artist or group commandeers a venue for a bit to put on a run of shows.
Tim Harding, Chortle, 8th March 2024Reuters suspects that a comedian may secretly be a real-life African dictator...
In August last year, Reuters fact-checked President Obonjo, a British stand-up comedy act that has been performing for over ten years. The shtick is that President Obonjo is the leader/dictator of the Lafta Republic in Africa. So convincing did many people (largely Americans) find this act that they believed President Obonjo was real.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 6th March 2024Leicester comedy festival - post-natal distress, a Trumpian dictator and Robo Bingo
Sets from Lily Phillips, President Obonjo and Foxdog Studios may not rival the Edinburgh Fringe, but give a bracing sense of the diversity of the comedy scene.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 13th February 2024TikTok bans comedy character President Obonjo
Comedian Benjamin Bello has been banned from broadcasting live on TikTok for a week, after a viewer mistook his character President Obonjo for a real African warlord and reported him to the platform.
British Comedy Guide, 29th January 2024The morning after yesterday's blog on President Obonjo, this happened...
Far be it from me to say my blog is widely read - it could, after all, be merely coincidence - but, a few brief hours after I posted yesterday's blog on comedy character President Obonjo, there was a military coup in Gabon, overthrowing President Ali Bongo, the namesake of the famed UK comedy magician and former President of the Magic Circle Ali Bongo.... This BBC News report has appeared (correct at the time of posting).
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 30th August 2023Donald Trump's supporters hail President Obonjo as one of their own
The comic dictator created by Benjamin Bello posted a TikTok video in 'support' of the president. However, "someone called Melissa Tate, a Right Wing Conservative blogger with about half a million followers on Twitter, blogged to say an African president supports Donald Trump."
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 29th August 2023Benjamin Bello: 'Edinburgh is getting more racist'
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.
Chortle, 23rd August 20235 Guaranteed Laugh-Fests at EdFringe 2023
Here are 5 Guaranteed Laugh-Fests at EdFringe 2023.
WJ Quinn, The Quintessential Review, 30th July 2023