'I don't have the spotless morality of, say, The Sun'

Joe Lycett had admitted he hasn’t got ‘spotless morality’ after being accused of hypocrisy for playing gigs in Qatar.

But in typical style, his mea culpa is dripping with sarcasm about The Sun newspaper, which today reported his jaunt to the Middle East back in 2015.

The comedian has recently drawn much focus to David Beckham’s multi-million pound deal to promote the nation during the World Cup despite its oppressive anti-LGBTQ laws, and branded the former England captain a ‘disgrace’.

But today The Sun reports that Lycett performed stand-up in the Qatari capital Doha, quoting fan Melanie Sweeting tweeting ‘I don’t understand why you are so angry as I remember seeing you perform here in Qatar at the Radisson Blue at the Laughter Factory!’ You didn’t seem to have a problem taking Qatari money that night?’

Lycett - who apparently shredded £10,000 of his own money to demonstrate how Beckham’s reputation as an LGBT ally had been shredded by his reported £150million deal – had detailed the Doha gigs in his 2016 memoir, Parsnips, Buttered.

In it, he wrote: ‘I was performing stand-up in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Friends of mine had warned me about travelling to these countries, claiming that "they don’t like", as one friend put it, "your lot".

‘The punishment for homosexuality in these countries is oft jail, the logic of which I’ve never understood. "Oh, you like men? We’ll put you in a box with some". Not exactly a punishment, lads!’

In response to The Sun’s full-page story today, Lycett posted on social media: ‘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 his interview with the New York Times last week, Lycett said of his visit to Qatar: ‘I didn’t feel safe there,’ adding that he was advised by promoters not to leave his hotel.

The special episode of Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back which detailed the money-shredding stunt – which turned out not to be real cash – attracted 1.2million viewers to Channel 4 last week, the  highest ever ratings for the show.

Beckham’s camp defended his deal with the Qataris, reportedly worth up to £15million a year for a decade, telling the programme: ‘We understand that there are different and strongly held views about engagement in the Middle East but see it as positive that debate about the key issues has been stimulated directly by the first World Cup being held in the region.

‘Beckham's role as ambassador for Qatar during the World Cup has been criticized due to Qatar's human right's record - particularly its stance on homosexuality.

‘David has been involved in a number of World Cups and other major international tournaments both as a player and an ambassador and he has always believed that sport has the power to be a force for good in the world. Football, the most popular sport globally, has a genuine ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities.’

In Qatar, same-sex relations are punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to Human Rights Watch.

Among the emirate’s assets in Britain are the Shard Quarter development in London Bridge, including not only the UK’s tallest skyscraper – but the so-called 'Baby Shard' office block occupied by The Sun and the rest of the News UK operation.

Lycett donated the £10,000 he said he shredded to to LGBTQ+ charities.

Published: 21 Dec 2022