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Joe Lycett trashes UK government over immigration policy during Commonwealth Games opening ceremony-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro
It was ‘just a bit of banter, tehehe’.
Joe Lycett takes a pop at Priti Patel and the UK government during opening ceremony (Picture: BBC)
Joe Lycett caused a storm last night after joking about the UK government’s immigration policy during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
The comedian, 34, hosted a segment of the BBC’s live coverage of the grand opening for the 2022 games in Birmingham.
Lycett, who was born in Birmingham, was part of a ceremony that celebrated the host city, featuring appearances from Sir Lenny Henry and Duran Duran.
And while introducing athletes from countries in Asia in a frilly pink tracksuit, Lycett took a moment out to land a blow against the UK government.
‘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’.
The joke drew big laughs from the crowd of 30,000 at the Alexander Stadium, the international athletics arena which will be the centre of the games.
Later on, after the ceremony had concluded, he took to Twitter to explain that it was ‘just a bit of banter’ before tagging Home Secretary Priti Patel in the post.
And on social media, the millions of people who were watching at home were lightning quick to post their thoughts about the jibe.
Lycett invited viewers to complain to Ofcom after joke told on TV last month (Picture: PA Photo/Channel 4)
‘You got to love Joe Lycett’, said one viewer, while another thought of the comedian as ‘brave’ for making a joke that ‘the regime’ wouldn’t like.
The posts continued: ‘Brilliant, and so true too’, one user said in reaction to the joke, while another considered it to be the ‘burn of the week’.
Lenny Henry got the audience laughing earlier in the evening (Picture: Elsa/Getty Images)
The UK government is no stranger to criticism for its attitude and approach when dealing with immigration to the country.
In 2018, the Windrush scandal hit the headlines when it was exposed that up to 83 people had been wrongly detained and threatened with deportation.
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And most recently, in June, angry protests and a ruling from the European court of human rights prevented a plane from deporting seven refugees to Rwanda.
Despite the plane staying grounded on that occasion, it is expected that the UK government will draw up plans to schedule another flight to Rwanda.
During the back, Drag Race UK star Ginny Lemon opened the ceremony in a suitably garish bright yellow hot air balloon, while after some pretty surreal moments Henry joked he’d ‘taken the wrong mushrooms’.
The Game is set to be the biggest sporting festival in the country since the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and it was kicked off with a show-stopping performance that celebrated the heritage and culture of the UK’s second city.
The Commonwealth Games will close on August 8 and will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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