Joe Lycett defends Qatar shows after his David Beckham criticism
Comedian Joe Lycett has responded to reports that he previously performed in Qatar following his criticism of David Beckham’s work in the Gulf state.
The stand-up had threatened to destroy £10,000 of his own money last month unless former England footballer pulled out of his reported £10m deal with the World Cup host, where homosexuality is illegal.
On Wednesday, Lycett sarcastically tweeted that he has been “caught out” by The Sun newspaper after it published a story saying he performed in Doha a few years ago.
David Beckham appeared throughout the World Cup in Qatar
The comic had previously mentioned his gigs around Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar in his autobiography, published in 2016.
Lycett wrote: “Oops! I’ve been caught out by The Sun!
“I did two gigs in Doha in 2015 and kept it entirely secret by writing about it in my own book and mentioning it in multiple interviews including with the NY Times!
“If you’re interested, I was paid a few hundred quid (not by Qatar but by UK comedy promoters) but it was 2015 and that went a lot further back then.
“I reckon that if a popular comedian from those days (eg Shane Ritchie) had shredded a few hundred quid to persuade me not to go, it would have made a difference. But who can say?
“I don’t have the perfect hindsight and spotless morality of, to pick a completely random example, The Sun newspaper.”
In a tweet to Lycett, broadcaster Piers Morgan wrote: “(The) problem is you decided to appoint yourself the great outraged halo-clad moralist over Qatar re Beckham & LGBT rights but you were paid to appear there too.
“Blaming the media for exposing your hypocrisy is a bit pathetic.”
Beckham did not respond to Lycett’s threat to destroy £10,000, prompting the comedian to appear to shred the money on a live stream.
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Lycett ‘would never destroy real money’
He later revealed that the money was fake and claimed he donated the amount to LGBT+ charities.
The stunt highlighted concerns about the World Cup being hosted in a country where same-sex relationships can be punishable by seven years in prison.
Qatar has been criticised for its laws and attitudes towards migrant workers and the LGBT+ communities.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
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