Joe Lycett has called out people trying to dad-shame him online.
Last October, the comedian, 36, announced he’d become a dad with an Instagram post thanking Birmingham Women’s Hospital staff for welcoming his son into the world.
Since then, Joe’s been keen to keep the baby out of the public eye, but while appearing on today’s episode of Lorraine – to promote his new series, Joe Lycett’s United States of Birmingham – he got candid about parenthood.
The host congratulated the Last One Laughing star on becoming a father, saying it was ‘absolutely fantastic’.
‘Yes! I’m amazed I’ve strung a sentence together ’cause I’m so underslept,’ Joe replied. ‘It’s so beautiful, the whole thing. It’s so hard to not be clichéd when you talk about parenthood because everything everyone says about it is exactly right.
‘It’s sort of everything, and maddening, and beautiful and yeah. I’m having a lovely time with it; I’m really in love with it. It’s great.’
After Lorraine Kelly shared a picture of the pair, however, Joe couldn’t help but poke fun at people trying to dad shame him on Instagram.
‘He’s not a potato,’ Joe said while pointing at the picture. ‘This is what everyone said on Instagram. “He’s not holding the neck right!” The number of people who tell you how to parent.’
Lorraine, 65, clearly shared Joe’s exasperation, advising that he, ‘just tell them to shush.
Joe surprised everyone with the news that he and his girlfriend, whom he affectionately calls Denise while keeping her real name a secret, had become parents back in October last year.
The popular comedian announced the news on Instagram with a picture of himself holding the baby.
‘An appreciation post from me for the extraordinary @bham_womens hospital. My first encounter with them was years ago when they looked after a pal of mine through surgery, and then most recently when they masterfully welcomed a little boy into the world, who happens to be my son,’ the caption read.
‘The care and compassion his mum and he received was exceptional; from the antenatal classes, incredible midwives, consultants, doctors, nurses and the ongoing care in the community. We also loved their baked potatoes.’
‘Birmingham is so lucky to have them, and I will be forever grateful for everything they’ve done.’
The news sparked a degree of confusion online, with many fans wondering if the announcement wasn’t one of his trademark pranks.
Joe infamously changed his name to Hugo Boss to draw attention to the fashion company’s allegedly taking legal action against other smaller companies, costing them thousands in legal fees.
Since then, the comedian has pulled off several other high-profile stunts, including one controversial joke where he pretended to shred £10,000 to draw attention to Qatar’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights.
In the November edition of his newsletter, Joe was forced to confirm that his baby wasn’t part of some elaborate gag.
‘I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has been so lovely about my news (you may have seen on Instagram or in the press that I have just welcomed a son), he wrote. ‘I’m finding fatherhood to be a total delight.’
‘And to confirm, he’s defo not a stunt (although I appreciate, I’ve cried wolf enough that might not be convincing).’
Following the baby’s birth, Joe appeared on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s Parenting Hell podcast, where he joked that he’d spent the first few weeks of fatherhood crying and explained how ‘immensely proud’ he is of Denise, who’d taken to motherhood like a ‘duck to water’.
During their chat, Joe admitted, however, that one of his pranks had come back to haunt him when he was registering the baby’s name.
‘When we went to register his name, the registrar said to me, “Have you been known by any other names?”’
‘I said “No” then I looked over at my partner and she furrowed her brow, and I went, “Oh yeah, I was known as a Hugo Boss for a while.”’
‘And she had to go into real granular detail, and she said, “You got lucky because if you were Hugo Boss on your passport, we have to put that on his birth certificate, the father is Joe Lycett, also known as Hugo Boss”.
Fortunately for Joe, the passport was rejected because when he signed the form, instead of writing Hugo Boss, he drew something rude, so staff rejected his application.
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9 am on ITV1.
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