Everyone’s favourite “very right-wing” comedian, Joe Lycett, has trolled the Conservative government once again, this time only needing a picture of a fragrant bowl of potpourri to mock Suella Braverman, the home secretary.
Lycett, whose previous antics have largely concerned sarcastically idolising shortest-serving prime minister Liz Truss, launched a fundraiser for homeless charity Crisis at the weekend after Braverman’s “disgusting” remarks implying homeless people lived on the street “as a lifestyle choice”.
In a thread posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, responding to reports that the government is looking to ban tents for rough sleepers, the home secretary wrote: “The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless.
“But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.”
Crisis is one of 15 homelessness charities calling for an “urgent reversal” of the planned policy “if the government wants to stop people from dying on our streets”.
Meanwhile Lycett chose to response in his usual fashion – by doing some good by being silly.
“I always thought lifestyle choices were things such as cargo pants, fishing and decorating your bathroom with a bowl of potpourri.
“Let’s see if this image I found on Google described as ‘Wooden Botanical Fragrant Potpourri Bowl with Lemon’ can raise £50,000 for homelessness charity Crisis,” he wrote on Instagram.
And it did, with the total currently standing at more than £53,000.
In a follow-up post to the platform on Tuesday (November 7), the Birmingham-based comic said: “I woke up this morning to see that a picture of a bowl of potpourri I posted just over two days ago has raised £50,000 for Crisis. A huge thank you to everyone who donated for their generosity.
“Of course my main thanks must go to Suella: without your lifestyle choice, of being callous and cruel towards the most vulnerable people in society, none of this would’ve happened.
“There’s another choice coming to all of us fairly soon. It’s known as an election.
“Best of luck with it babe xoxox.”
Iconic.
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