Punters were sent abusive texts and had personal details exposed

A comedy club run by stand-up Pete Gionis has been accused of harassment after a couple were subject to threats and intimidation for posting an unfavourable review online.

London’s Comedy Carnival publicly published the man’s full contact details after he posted the one-star rating on Google – which was followed by threatening texts with racist overtones.

The couple involved said the actions – which also included threats to an employer – were ‘clear indications of hate crime’,  'racist', and ‘completely disproportionate behaviour’.  

It all started when the pair, Tanya and Rachit, attended a Comedy Carnival show at the Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden last weekend, which 54-year-old Gionis was also compering.

The club said the couple complained about the content of the show, but Tanya – whose surname we are withholding – told Chortle: ‘There was absolutely no confrontation or complaint at the venue. We watched the show quietly and left like any normal customers.  Nor did we witness any altercation between the MC and any other audience members that evening.

'After we got home, we discussed the experience and my partner Rachit left a one-star Google review with no written comment at all.’

Shortly afterwards, the club responded by publicly posting Rachit’s personal information - including home address, email and mobile number - calling him a 'vindictive venomous prick' and inviting people to 'give feedback'.

‘This obviously felt extremely invasive and frightening,’ Tanya said, adding: ‘Rachit removed his review after the doxxing, because he felt genuinely intimidated by the fact that all of his personal details had been exposed.

‘I felt strongly that someone shouldn’t be bullied into removing even a simple one-star rating, so I then left a review myself.’

Tanya later left another review under the name ‘Neeraj’ calling the show ‘boring’ and calling the content ‘completely unimaginative. Predictable, flat, and at times awkwardly dragged out. The MC in particular was a huge disappointment.’

On Monday morning, the situation escalated when Rachit started receiving ‘hostile and intimidating’ text messages. 

The number they came from is the same one Gionis has previously cited as his own in communications with Chortle, and the comedian's photograph appears on the number's profile in WhatsApp. However, last night he denied sending the texts and said the number could be used by a number of people working for Comedy Carnival.

The first message said: ‘Tell your dumb brown friends to take those stupid reviews down or I will expose your personal information on a scale you can’t imagine and bombard your employer’s Google listing with bad reviews mentioning you by name.

It was followed by another threatening: 'You have an hour to get those reviews taken down or the party starts.'

However, the wrong company was named – Rachit does not work for Bloomberg – which could have resulted in a vindictive campaign against a man who just happened to share Rachit’s name. One post includ a link to Bloomberg's HR reporting wesbite. 

When the couple, who are Indian by birth, told friends what was happening, one left a fresh review mentioning the harassment. She later deleted it because she became afraid of the consequences, Tanya said. After it had been posted, Rachit receive another intimidating text saying: ‘You just made it 100 times worse. You won’t just be hearing from HR but also the Home Office and HMRC, you fucking cocksucker.’

‘Given he already had our full address, this felt quite threatening,’ Tanya added.

Later, the original Comedy Carnival response revealing Rachid’s details was removed, replaced by a new one insulting him as ‘Ratshit’. That was later changed to the correct spelling after Chortle contacted the club about the exchanges.

Gionis said he had not sent the text messages and responded to this website’s request for comment by saying: ‘Publication of my name in connection with unsubstantiated claims would be defamatory, and all legal rights are reserved.’

He said that Comedy Carnival employs ‘over a dozen people, occupying multiple crossover roles with shared access to various communication platforms and devices. Devices used for work purposes include tablets, phones and laptops. The phone numbers are connected to the tablets and laptops via desktop versions of iMessage and WhatsApp. The number you refer to has been used for business communications and is accessible across synced devices used by authorised personnel, so messages are not attributable to a single individual.’

The London-based Australian comedian added that an ‘internal review’ would be held as his company ‘cannot verify the authenticity or origin of the messages at this stage’.

In 2010, Gionis’s reaction to a poor review was the talk of the Edinburgh Fringe.

There, when performing as Pete Jonas, he received a zero-star write-up from this website for his show Dark Side Of The Poon, with our reviewer repulsed by his sexual ‘shock comedy’. In response, he posted an open letter to the female reviewer containing violently misogynistic imagery.

Ironically, Gionis has previously instructed lawyers to try to have that review taken down, citing data protection and privacy concerns. He has also forbidden us to use his publicity photographs on the site.

Nor were Rachit and Tanya the first to face consequences after posting a negative Google review of Comedy Carnival.

In response to a one-star review from a man called Bryan two months ago, the club published his address and email; and two months before that when a teacher gave a three-star review, the response linked to a page containing his email address and phone number .

The review originally posted by Tanya also noted that the during the show, the club was ‘desperately begging the audience for positive reviews’ and offered bottles of wine for good write-ups - an inducement which is a violation of Google policy.

On its ‘prohibited and restricted content’ page, the search giant says: ‘Rating manipulation includes incentivized or biased reviews, which are not allowed and will be removed from Maps. This includes content that has been posted due to an incentive offered by a business - such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services.’

Gionis set up Comedy Carnival in 2004. It is run through the company Leviathan Entertainment, whose directors are Gionis and director of events Susana Sola.

In response to our inquiries, Gionis supplied a statement on behalf of the company. It said: ‘Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. It is not Comedy Carnival’s policy to disclose customers’ personal information, and the company does not condone such language or behaviour.

'Comedy Carnival operates with staff across multiple venues and administrative functions. Customer communications and review responses are handled through shared channels by authorised personnel. The company is reviewing the material referenced and cannot verify the authenticity or origin of the messages at this stage.

‘An initial examination indicates the matter may relate to two audience members who objected to the content of a show last week. The circumstances remain under review and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

‘Comedy Carnival takes these allegations seriously. A full internal review of account activity and staff access is under way, and any conduct found to be inconsistent with company policies will be addressed appropriately. 

‘The company remains committed to complying with platform rules and to treating customers fairly and with respect.’

Most of the 1,187 reviews for Comedy Carnival on Google Maps are five stars, with an average of 4.8. The club rents the room in Seven Dials Club and the venue itself has no other connection with the operations of the comedy club.

Published: 3 Apr 2026