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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Jamie Roberts

Joe Lycett performed in Qatar years before slamming David Beckham over World Cup role

Joe Lycett has been called out for performing in Qatar and Dubai prior to his outburst against David Beckham.

The comedian had previously shared his outrage at David Beckham taking up a role as ambassador at this year's controversial FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Joe, 34, had called out the "gay icon" former footballer, 47, on his role due to the issue of workers' and LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar - David was said to have signed a £150million contract with Qatar over 10 years.

He appeared to go ahead with his threat of shredding £10,000 if the former England captain didn't drop his £10million World Cup deal, but later confirmed he hadn't actually destroyed the money.

And despite the call-out and stunt, Joe now finds himself being questioned on his own morals after fans slammed him for performing in the Gulf states himself.

Joe appeared in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Qatar, he revealed in his autobiography. And one fan who attended his gig at the time has criticised his latest actions.

Fans of Joe Lycett have criticised the star for his previous gigs in Qatar (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Tweeting in response to his stunt, the gig-goer said: "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?"

Another added: "Many people sharing Joe Lycett ’s publicity stunt shaming David Beckham. In 2015 he performed stand-up in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. By all means feel free to criticise David Beckham, but don’t be a hypocrite about it."

And a third tweeted the star saying: "Done a gig in Qatar, tut tut hypocrisy."

Joe had previously mocked the region's anti-gay laws in his autobiography titled Parsnips, Buttered. He wrote: "I was performing stand-up in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

David Beckham was called out by Joe Lycett for his role with Qatar (Getty Images)

"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!"

Last week, Joe read out a statement on his Got Your Back Christmas special on Channel 4 from David's team, which said: "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.

"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.

"We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy towards all people and that progress will be achieved."

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