Joe Lycett has been making headlines lately for the controversial ultimatum he gave to David Beckham.
The 34-year-old comedian demanded the former England footballer pull out of his role as a Qatar ambassador for the FIFA World Cup due to the host country’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights. If not, the comic said he would shred up £10,000 - which many argued is a drop in the ocean compared to Beckham’s £10m deal with Qatar.
Appearing to stand by his decision, he videoed himself on a Twitch stream wearing a rainbow-layered tulle outfit and placed wads of what appeared to be cash into an industrial shredder. At the time it was not clear if the banknotes were genuine money but after facing backlash, Joe confirmed the money was fake and that he had in fact donated the £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charities.
READ MORE: First picture of 'lovely' man killed at rail station
The elaborate stunt is just one of several the TV presenter has been known to pull to get the public talking. As well as standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, Joe has also previously stood up for a fashion business in Liverpool.
Joe legally changed his name to Hugo Boss in a protest against the German fashion brand after the company had been sending cease-and-desist letters to small businesses and charities who were also using the word “boss” in their names. In his original tweet, Joe posted photographic evidence of his name change and said: "This week I legally changed my name by deed poll and I am now officially known as Hugo Boss."
One of the business owners who received a letter from the household name was John Charles. The dad, who is originally from Kirkby but moved to Huyton, had applied for a trademark for his "Be Boss, Be Kind" designs after the success of the free virtual art classes he set up in the first lockdown and due to what he says was demand from local parents for merchandise.
It wasn’t long before the artist received a letter from solicitors Simmons & Simmons, who act for the Hugo Boss group of companies, stating they will be filing a "Notice of Threatened Opposition" against the application on behalf of their client. John previously told the ECHO the trademarking process was going fine until he received the letter which said Hugo Boss objected to the use of the word “boss” on any sort of apparel and that he initially thought that letter "was a joke.
Thanks to the public reactions and Joe's act of solidarity, Hugo Boss and the popular artist managed to reach an “amicable solution”, which John said, “was worth it all”.
He told the ECHO : “The public was ridiculously positive and behind us. It was just us, the little people from Huyton going up against Hugo Boss, one of the biggest fashion companies in the world. It was really stressful. There was a point when I said to my wife Jen should we kick this on its head because of everything we’re going through, but we didn't want it to end. It was the principle of it and I was going to go through with it."
Joe took centre stage again when he pretended to be “right-wing” during an appearance on Laura Kuenssberg’s BBC politics show, despite previously having been very critical of the party.
When asked about the strength of Liz Truss’s position as the summer leadership race was drawing to an end, rather than criticising the soon-to-be short-serving prime minister, Joe praised the then-frontrunner against Rishi Sunak. His satire came after Truss refused to set out the specifics of how she would help people deal with soaring energy costs, despite saying she would act “within one week”.
Leaving the audience, social media users and fellow panellists laughing, he said: “I’m actually very right-wing and I love it. I thought she gave great clear answers. I know exactly what she’s up to.”
The English and drama graduate is no stranger to hosting having presented several of his own comedy programmes including Joe Lycett vs the Oil Giant and Joe Lycett’s Big Pride Party. Perhaps one of his most memorable hosting moments came during the Commonwealth Games. Opening the ceremony in his home city the comedian took the opportunity to make a dig at the UK Government’s immigration policy.
He said: “I’m going to do something now that the British Government doesn’t always do, and welcome some foreigners – this time from the region of Asia.” Joe later retweeted a clip of the moment with the caption: “soz @pritipatel just a bit of banter tehehe.”
Receive our weekly LGBTQIA+ newsletter by signing up here .
READ NEXT:
- Vile woman jumped into grandad's car and battered him on driveway
- Famous brand that started from humble beginnings on Merseyside
- First people move in at council's 'luxury' housing company
- Controversial match day parking firm sent money to Salford
- Find the coins hidden on the ECHO website for the chance to win a £200 voucher
