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Lycett is performing in Dublin in August. PA Images

Comedian Joe Lycett responds to PSNI after Belfast audience member complains about joke

The PSNI told him they had a “duty to investigate” after the complaint was made but that “no offences” were detected.

ENGLISH COMEDIAN JOE Lycett was contacted by the PSNI after an audience member at his Belfast show made a police complaint about one of his jokes. 

The PSNI has since said that “no offences were detected” after they investigated the matter after receiving the complaint. 

Lycett performed at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall on 8 and 10 June and said today that the PSNI were “very nice about it all” after asking him to write a statement in response to the complaint.  

“So someone came to my tour show a few weeks back and was offended by one of the jokes. And their perfectly understandable response to this was… to call the fucking police,” Lycett said on social media today

To be fair to them the fuzz were very nice about it all but felt they had a duty to investigate. This involved me writing a statement explaining the context of the joke for them; I particularly enjoyed putting the words ‘giant donkey dick’ into a message to a police detective.

Lycett also included a screenshot of a response he received from the PSNI in which they said they had closed the matter. 

A statement from the force to media has also confirmed that they will not be pursuing the matter further. 

“Police received one complaint following a show in Belfast on June 8th. Enquiries were made and no offences were detected,” the PSNI said. 

Lycett has sought to benefit from the mini-controversy by saying that anyone who wants to hear the joke can buy tickets to his show, a number of which take place in Dublin

“You’ll be pleased to know that the joke – which I consider to be one of the best I’ve ever written – remains firmly and proudly in the show,” he said

“The tour continues until September, unless I am jailed.”

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    Mute Brian Burns
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:12 PM

    The person who rang the police should be publicly humiliated for wasting police time…would hopefully slow the rise of the easily offended

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    Mute David Bohane
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:30 PM

    @Brian Burns: Rise of the far left, so obsessed with themselves its embarrassing.

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    Mute Niall Mc Kee
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:53 PM

    @David Bohane: I find it right wingers that cry about dick jokes all the time… and I would garuntee the person who called the police was a right winger…… probably worried what Jesus thinks…
    I’m fairly far left but being that way means I have to stand up for free speech or else I’m not a progressive I’m just a hypocritical , this is a joke as is the person who complained about it

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    Mute Ciaran
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:06 PM

    @Niall Mc Kee: or left snowflakes ..

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    Mute UK Hurling Bloke
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:26 PM

    @Niall Mc Kee: extreme right wing and extreme left wing are now pretty much the same thing. United in dogma, they’ve both reached around and arrived at the same place.
    You can’t say this. You can’t do that.
    You must think like me, etc etc

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    Mute A$AP Ragnick
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:36 PM

    @UK Hurling Bloke: people’s perception of the left and right is so skewed to what they actually originated as now. Left wing politics was about workers rights, social housing, education, healthcare etc, now it just seems to be mired in an obsession with identity politics, and a large part of the right just seem to be obsessed with irrelevant culture wars that don’t actually benefit the working man they claim to be fighting on behalf of, in any way. Everyone seems to be obligated to have one uniform set of polarising views, aligned to the side of the political spectrum they are on, when in reality that is not true of most normal people. Be grand if a more moderate and nuanced way of thinking came to the fore, but i doubt it somehow.

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    Mute Christybhoy67
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:00 PM

    @David Bohane: orange order member left wing , I think not

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    Mute Gearóid MacEachaidh
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:27 PM

    @A$AP Ragnick: yes I hate the fact that “the left” and “the right” are creeping into popular vocabulary here. It’s such a lazy American form of identity politics. The fact is that most people here are smart enough to look at the individual issue and for where they stand based on the information rather that whether they are right or left wing. People who identify themselves purely as one or the other annoy me.

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    Mute Dave Harris
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 3:01 PM

    @David Bohane: because the”far left” are of one mind who all think the same. You cannot generalise about groups of people because they are all individuals. The only thing you CAN generalise about is people who generalise are generally hard of thinking

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    Mute Fergal McDonagh
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 3:34 PM

    @David Bohane: you really haven’t a clue

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    Mute Steven Powell
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 8:19 PM

    @David Bohane: sounds like a right wing conservative to me. Likely the same people who say police are not out catching criminals and don’t lock up enough people, but then goes and wastes police time and tax payers money complaining about a joke in a show they bought a ticket to go see.

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    Mute Brian McDonnell
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:22 PM

    So, someone, somewhere, willingly bought tickets to a go see a comedian known for rude jokes, and then complains to the police because one of the jokes is too rude for them?!?!?!? Joe Lycett must be laughing at all the free publicity.

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    Mute Nicholas O'Halloran
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:03 PM

    Christ almighty

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    Mute Shane Hickey
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:19 PM

    I’m gob smacked. The person who wasted police time should be charged

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    Mute CP/M(inotaur)
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:34 PM

    The complainant was a Tesla?! ;)

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    Mute Derek Anderson
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:38 PM

    Hahaha. Can you just imagine these snowflakes watching the likes of ’till death us do part’ or the likes or even the old comedians from the past TV shows. Absolutely unbelievable the way people are offended these days.

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    Mute v39e84kK
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:59 PM

    I despair for society. Nevermind being offended about everything it’s the sense of entitlement that because YOU, the centre of the universe, are offended someone must be silenced and denounced.

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    Mute Grebo Leonardo
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:14 PM

    What’s the bets that the one who reported it was a Vegan…. As the joke was about a Donkey

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    Mute Jonathan O'Riordan
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:34 PM

    @Grebo Leonardo: and maybe the vegan has a small Richard

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    Mute A$AP Ragnick
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:41 PM

    @Jonathan O’Riordan: i think Puritanical offence predates the woke era there to be fair. the likes of Paisley and DUP were banging this drum before any gen z’ers.

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    Mute Neil Reilly
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:43 PM

    @Jonathan O’Riordan: or a large ass

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    Mute Shane Kennedy
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:40 PM

    Far Left ? How can anyone make that connection ?

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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:37 PM

    Ah I see, Belfast! Thats alright.! when i read this morning that someone in his Irish show complained AND the Irish police investigated i just said NO WAY, that’s made up ! :D phew, was morto there for a while…

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    Mute Ian McDonald
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:02 PM

    The person who was so easily offended should go to their doctor and get a prescription for a pair of test.icles

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    Mute Thunder Snowman
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:51 PM

    @Ian McDonald: Or a pair of giant donkey testicles? ;-)

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    Mute FliepFlap
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 4:10 PM

    @Ian McDonald: Rat poison would do I think.

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    Mute malcolm smith
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:34 PM

    The solution is simple, if you easily offended, don’t go to a comedy. Stay at home and watch songs of praise or something similar.

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    Mute Reuben Gray
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:53 PM

    Hah, I was at the second gig in Belfast where he told us about the complaint and asked us nicely if we are offended by anything he says, please don’t call the police.

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    Mute Gearóid MacEachaidh
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:30 PM

    @Reuben Gray: are you able to repeat the joke in question here???

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    Mute Vicky Murphy
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 12:34 PM

    He is left

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    Mute Paul Martin
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:17 PM

    Will smith would have taught him a lesson

    23
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    Mute Caroline Otoole
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:08 PM

    So next time your house is burgled, report it as something else.

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    Mute Ronnie Smith
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:41 PM

    Richard Head was the complainant I think

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    Mute John Lynch
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:11 PM

    Lycett isn’t the only ‘Risteard’ who thinks that embarrassed laughter makes him a comedian.

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    Mute Jenny Wright
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 4:43 PM

    We’re talking about Belfast here. What on earth would lead anyone to believe it was the far left who might be offended?

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    Mute Richard Carroll
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 6:21 PM

    Joe is one funny dude, and we need more funny dudes like him.

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    Mute Michael Burke
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:09 PM

    Never heard of this guy till now…

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    Mute OConnelj
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:26 PM

    @Michael Burke: mission accomplished then!

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    Mute Gearóid MacEachaidh
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 2:35 PM

    @Michael Burke: really? He does some really good consumer rights shows on Channel 4 as well as his stand up. Once when the fashion brand Hugo Boss sued a small business for using the name “boss” in their brand Joe changed his name to Hugo Boss by deed poll for a few months and trolled the fashion house.

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    Mute Stephen Walshe
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 3:13 PM

    A prime example of the sad snow flakes that live among us

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    Mute Sean Bradley
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 1:43 PM

    Count Dankula!

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    Mute Eoghan Ryan
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    Jun 22nd 2022, 9:06 PM

    Complete set up and he has form as well, it’s worked though so fair play!

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    Mute Rathminder
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    Jun 23rd 2022, 9:09 AM

    I went to a comedy night and was quite offended by some of the jokes. My responses included not returning to see that comedian again and thinking twice about seeing people at that venue. Perhaps I should have sued for PTSD as I still remember his style of humour twenty years later. I was joking BTW if you find that comment objectionable!

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    Mute Verners Tess
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    Jun 23rd 2022, 1:10 AM
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    Mute Richard Toomey
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    Jun 23rd 2022, 8:14 AM

    Is this for real or just a publicity stunt?

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