Spa Pavilion in Felixstowe responds to Katie Hopkins boycott

The Spa Pavilion in Felixstowe will be bringing Katie Hopkins, who found fame on TV show The Apprentice, to the town for a performance of her comedy show "Bats*** Bonkers Britain," which is touring the UK, on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 7.30pm.

However, her appearance has sparked anger amongst online commentators, who have called for a boycott of the theatre.

This has included persuading other performers to cancel shows at the seafront venue and theatre goers not to buy tickets.

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They have accused Hopkins of making inflammatory remarks during her career, which has included appearances on reality shows I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here and Celebrity Big Brother, while she has also written columns for national newspapers.

But in a statement, the Spa's management team said it was "surprised and hurt" by the reaction of "keyboard warriors" to Hopkins' appearance and has refused to cancel her booking.

It said: "We are confident that the content of her new show is appropriate for public consumption and we are not going to act as a censor of her show due to comments allegedly made many years ago.

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The Spa Pavilion in Felixstowe will be hosting Katie Hopkins in May 2025 (Image: Sophie Kennelly) "We are firmly of the view that if people don’t like it, then they don’t have to come.

"However, many online commenters have taken it upon themselves to turn this into a war against the Spa, trying to persuade other performers to cancel shows and other people not to buy tickets.

"We have even seen suggestions of a boycott of the theatre. We really struggle with all of this and do not understand why people would attack us in this way.

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"We saved a derelict and unloved theatre from extinction nearly 10 years ago.

"This will have all been for nothing if these keyboard warriors have their way and the Spa loses any shows or level of income over this one show."

They said they believed the world was "slowly falling apart" and becoming increasingly more polarised with people behaving in a more spiteful and hurtful manner towards others, with half being prepared to tolerate the views of others and the other half not.

They said they "hated upsetting anyone" but had taken a decision to put on "one show which they don't like and there is no going back for us".

"It is a ticketed show, not a broadcast and anyone who thinks they might not like it can easily avoid seeing it by not buying a ticket," the management said.

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The theatre aimed to put on the "widest possible variety of shows," they said, adding that they were in competition with "larger, council-funded theatres" in Ipswich to attract the biggest names.

"All we want to do is to attract as many people as possible to our shows and ensure that they have a great time when they visit, which in turn gives us the ability to attract the big name performers that we all love to see in our town.

"We will continue to do that to the best of our ability for as long as we can make it financially viable to do so," the statement added.

Felixstowe mayor David Rowe, who represents Labour, said as long as Hopkins was not in breach of hate crime legislation, such as by delivering racist, misogynist or homophobic material, then there was no reason to censor her performance.

He echoed the views of the Spa's management, saying: "My view is that if you don't like her, don't go.

"I'm not going to go because I would not particularly want to hear her views, but nobody is being forced to go.

"It is not as if she's influencing vulnerable people, such as at a care home or school, where people have got to sit and listen." 

Katie Hopkins' representatives have been approached for comment.