In response to accusations of hypocrisy about his criticism of David Beckham, Joe Lycett has defended himself. In a recent act of defiance against Beckham’s connections to the World Cup host nation of Qatar, where it is against the law to be homosexual, the comedian pretended to shred £10,000.
However, the Sun emphasized that earlier in his career, Lycett had received compensation for appearances in the nation.
Joe Lycett asserted that he never attempted to conceal the shows and mockingly alluded to the Sun’s “spotless morals.”
A UK comedy promoter paid him “a few hundred quid” for the performances in 2015, and he added that he would have thought twice about performing if a similarly well-known comedian had shredded payment in protest.
Perfect foresight
Due to Qatar’s treatment of gay people—same-sex relationships are illegal there—many LGBTQ supporters boycotted the most recent Fifa men’s World Cup.
To express her disapproval of Beckham’s endorsement of Qatar as a nation’s ambassador, Lycett pretended to shred £10,000 last month. According to reports, the former England captain has agreed to a £10 million contract with the World Cup hosts.
The comedian presented a show on Channel 4 called Joe Lycett vs. Beckham as a result of his marketing stunt, which was widely covered by media sources.
The Sun, meanwhile, said on Thursday that Lycett was at “the center of a hypocrisy storm” after it came to light that he had previously given multiple performances in contentious Gulf states.
In his book, which was released in 2016, the comedian writes about performing in Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, both in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Lycett said this in a statement that was shared on Twitter: “Oops! The Sun has me by surprise! I performed at two events in Doha in 2015 while keeping them completely a secret by writing about them in my own book and bringing them up in numerous interviews, including one with the New York Times!
“If it’s any help, I was paid a few hundred pounds in 2015 (not by Qatar, but by UK comedy producers), but that money bought a lot more back then.
I believe it would have made a difference if a well-known comic from the day, like Shane Ritchie, had shredded a few hundred pounds to convince me not to go. Yet who is to say?
I lack The Sun newspaper’s flawless morality and perfect hindsight, to give a wholly arbitrary example.
Social media users have gotten in touch with Lycett to let him know about their upcoming shows. One of them inquired, “You didn’t seem to have a problem taking Qatari money that night?”
A representative for Beckham stated this past week: “We acknowledge that there are various, strongly held opinions regarding engagement in the Middle East, but we believe it as a positive that discussion of the major issues has been directly sparked by the first World Cup taking place in the region.
“We hope that these discussions will foster a deeper sense of empathy and understanding for all people, and that progress will be made.”
Social media users have gotten in touch with Lycett to let him know about their upcoming shows. One of them inquired, “You didn’t seem to have a problem taking Qatari money that night?”
A representative for Beckham stated this past week: “We acknowledge that there are various, strongly held opinions regarding engagement in the Middle East, but we believe it as a positive that discussion of the major issues has been directly sparked by the first World Cup taking place in the region.
“We hope that these discussions will foster a deeper sense of empathy and understanding for all people, and that progress will be made.”
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