Piers Morgan slams Joe Lycett as 'hypocrite' for performing in Qatar

Piers Morgan has hit out at Joe Lycett after it emerged that the comedian previously performed in Qatar despite criticising the gulf state for its laws on homosexuality.

Lycett had previously criticised David Beckham for acting as an ambassador for the country where it is illegal to be gay.

But it also came to light that the comedian performed gigs in Qatar in 2015 which led to charges of hypocrisy online.

Read more: Joe Lycett hailed as 'national treasure' over David Beckham special

Piers Morgan also chimed in on Twitter and said: "Hmm. 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."

Lycett has defended himself against charges of hypocrisy and said he never hid the fact he performed in Qatar, even mentioning it in his autobiography.

In a statement, Lycett wrote: "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?"

He also took a sarcastic swipe at The Sun newspaper who broke the story: "I don't have the perfect hindsight and spotless morality of, to pick a completely random example, The Sun newspaper."

Last month, Lycett pretended to shred £10,000 of his own money in a protest of Beckham's role in promoting Qatar and the World Cup which ended on Sunday.

It was reported that Beckham has received £10m to act as an ambassador for the country.

Beckham never publicly addressed Lycett's criticism and stunt.

Watch below: David Beckham breaks silence on Joe Lycett's money-shredding stunt