Joe Lycett has jokingly hit back against ‘misinformation’ regarding his sexuality after announcing the birth of his child on Friday.
The Birmingham comedian and prankster, 36, took to Instagram to share the news with his followers, thanking Birmingham Women’s Hospital too.
Joe shares the newborn with partner ‘Denise’, whose real name isn’t Denise but has to be kept out of the public eye for work security reasons.
Immediately after the post was made, some of Joe’s followers and fans began speculating in the comments over whether this was another of his infamous publicity pranks.
Joe famously changed his name to Hugo Boss in 2020, pretended to destroy £10,000 ahead of the World Cup in 2022, and admitted to planting fake stories in the media earlier this year.
But this latest announcement appears to be sincere, and Joe has taken the birth of his child as an opportunity to remind people of his sexuality – with an added Joe Lycett twist, of course.
After sharing a painting named ‘Pansexual, acrylic gouache on canvas, 2024,’ he launched into a lengthy but hilarious statement that caught many of his followers off-guard.
He posted: ‘I’ve seen a lot of misinformation being spread around over the last few days about pansexuality so I thought I’d explain it properly. Pansexuality is actually closely linked with the pangolin.
‘Pansexuality is actually nothing to do with gender or any of that woke stuff but mating rituals which are primarily to do with smell and are strictly seasonal.’
He continued: ‘If someone tells you they are pansexual then make sure to look at their nostrils, particularly in late spring, because there’s a good chance they are sniffing around for a mate.
‘Generally the smells they are attracted to are blueberry flavour disposable vapes, Alpro soy milk (unsweetened), nail varnish remover, and coins. Some really like chicken jalfrezi (NEVER, EVER put a lamb korma near a pansexual). I hope that clears things up.’
In response, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star Bimini Bon-Boulash, 31 – to who Joe revealed he had a girlfriend earlier this month – simply said: ‘I can confirm.’
Joe had said on Bimini’s podcast: ‘It’s interesting now being in a long-term relationship with a woman because loads of people are like, sorry what?
‘There was a brief period when I was at school when I thought because I was attracted to men, I was gay, and then I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on.’
He continued: ‘Then I use the term bisexual when anyone asks and I just want to give a quick answer because people understand that.
‘But I think the most accurate way of describing myself is pansexual, in that I’m not attracted to people just because of their gender.’
Despite his recent public comments, however, some fans are still wary that this could be another one of Joe’s genius pranks.
Instagram user @flower_fairy wrote: ‘I’m saying congratulations but I’m also thinking this is you and it could easily be a puppy/kitten/gearbox in that hat.’
@elladunthorne was also making sure she didn’t fall for a potential ruse, commenting: ‘I can’t tell if this is satire but I’m here for it either way.’
Meanwhile, @madnessandmayhemof5uk agreed too, joking: ‘I’m just worried this will come out as him cuddling a bunch of rhubarb in a hat, to be honest.’