Edinburgh Fringe comedian has 'boycott' graffiti etched on £300 poster

Aaron Twitchen said he had forked out £300 for a giant promotional poster on The Pleasance advertising his show Himbo.

But he was hit with a surprise when a friend sent him a picture of the poster spray-painted with ‘Boycott the Fringe’.

The comic, who is on his sixth solo run of shows at the festival, said the damage would cost £90 to replace - adding to £10,000 he had already spent on bringing his act to the Capital.

Aaron Twitchen had his poster defaced with ‘Boycott the Fringe’ spray paint | Handout

Just yesterday, we reported that a poster by funnyman Will Robbins had been sprayed with the same slogan. It is unknown who is behind the vandalism.

Although the Fringe is widely lauded for contributing to the city’s economy, some claim the influx of visitors and performers exacerbates its deep housing crisis.

Posting on social media, Twitchen shared the photo with the caption “My big expensive banners, defaced before I even arrived.”

He later said: “I haven’t been to the Fringe for five years, as I’ve been paying off the costs of previous years, and this year could be the last chance I have to come to Edinburgh and do it.

“If people really want me to boycott the Fringe, I wish they had told me back in January, before I spent £10,000 to do it.”

Twitchen, who is known for his debut book Homo History and podcast of the same name, is trying to see the positive side of the situation.

“When I heard that one of my posters had been vandalised, I initially thought that it might have been homophobic comments, so I’m quite relieved that it’s nothing personal against me per se”, he said.

“And at least they got my gender right, ‘boy’.”

A cheeky reply to the vandal seems to have been written on the poster - but it is not known if Twitchen put it there himself. The message reads: “Sorry for bringing £200million to your economy.”

Insisting he recognised everyone’s right to have their say, Twitchen added: “As a gay man I can’t honestly object to any form of protest – without the protests of the past we wouldn’t have things like gay rights and gender equality.

“Plus, recent protests have seen iconic works of art targeted – such as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers – so I’m telling myself that my poster must be pretty iconic to be picked by protesters; I just wish they’d used soup instead of spray paint, it would’ve been easier to clean!”