Romesh Ranganathan’s Wife Left “Incredibly Upset” After Being Branded A “Race Traitor” In Vile Attack Over Their Marriage

Romesh Ranganathan has revealed the deeply personal cost of the racist abuse he faces, after online trolls turned their attention to his wife, Leesa, with a shocking message condemning her for marrying him. The comedian admitted he felt responsible for the distressing attack, despite knowing he had done nothing wrong.

The Celebrity Traitors star, 48, is currently competing on the BBC One series, with episode nine airing tonight ahead of Friday’s nail-biting final. While his fellow contestants have praised his ability to spot suspicious behaviour, Romesh has now spoken about the far uglier attention directed at his family away from the cameras.

A VILE MESSAGE LEFT HIS WIFE DEEPLY DISTRESSED

Romesh revealed that racist abuse is unfortunately nothing new to him, claiming he receives hateful messages almost every day. But the latest incident crossed another deeply personal boundary when a troll contacted Leesa directly through Instagram.

The message branded her a “race traitor” for marrying the comedian and went even further, telling her she was no longer welcome among white people.

Leesa was left “incredibly upset” by the attack.

Speaking about her reaction, Romesh recalled the message and his attempt to comfort her with his trademark dark humour.

“My wife, Leesa, someone messaged her on Instagram and said, ‘You are a race traitor because you married one of them. You are no longer welcome among the whites.’

“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.’”

‘I AM THE REASON SHE RECEIVED THAT MESSAGE’

Behind the joke, however, Romesh admitted the incident had left him feeling guilty.

He acknowledged that Leesa had become a target simply because of her relationship with him, something he described as particularly difficult to accept.

“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.”

The comedian also pointed out that Leesa would not have faced this particular abuse had she married a white man.

But he couldn’t resist adding another punchline, joking that she would also have missed out on having a swimming pool.

HIS SONS HAVE ALSO FACED RACIST ABUSE GROWING UP

The disturbing behaviour has not been limited to Romesh and his wife. Their three sons, Alex, Theo and Charlie, have also experienced racist comments during their childhood.

Speaking to his Wolf and Owl podcast co-host Tom Davis, Romesh explained that although his children had not experienced the same volume of abuse he had, they had still encountered racism.

He recalled one incident involving a boy at school who was speaking to a female friend when another child made a cruel remark about their future relationship.

One child reportedly told him: “I don’t know why you’re bothering to chat to her. You’re going to end up marrying your cousin.”

Romesh also revealed that Alex had been subjected to the P-word at school.

For the comedian, such incidents raise uncomfortable questions about where children learn these attitudes in the first place.

ROMESH POINTS THE FINGER AT PARENTS

Romesh suggested that racist behaviour displayed by children often reflects what they are hearing at home.

“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 admitted that confronting the possibility that another parent holds racist views is deeply unpleasant, but believes adults cannot ignore the attitudes children bring into the playground.

WHY HE DOESN’T WANT RACISM TO CONTROL HIS CHILDREN’S REACTIONS

Despite describing racism as “horrible and abhorrent”, Romesh also shared a firm message about how he wants his sons to respond when confronted with prejudice.

He believes there is a danger in allowing hateful remarks to provoke an immediate, uncontrollable reaction.

“Racism is horrible and abhorrent,” he said, before explaining why he thinks it is a “mistake to supercharge it”.

“If somebody calls you a racial slur and it immediately ignites you, it gives that person power over you.”

Romesh was careful to stress that this does not mean people should remain silent or refuse to challenge racist behaviour. Rather, he does not want his children to believe that violence is the automatic response to racial hatred.

“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.”

A FAMILY HISTORY ROOTED IN SRI LANKA

Romesh’s own family background adds another dimension to his experiences with racism.

His mother, Shanthi, moved from Sri Lanka to Crawley when she was just 19, alongside his late father, Ranga.

Now, as the comedian continues to speak openly about the prejudice he and his family have encountered, his latest revelations expose how online hatred can reach far beyond the person in the public eye — leaving even their closest loved ones to deal with the consequences.