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.
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.
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.