Joe Lycett has launched a major fundraiser for Crisis UK in the wake of Braverman’s comments (Picture: Tom Dymond/Shutterstock for Channel Four)
Voice of the people, Joe Lycett is up to his usual antics with Home Secretary Suella Braverman locked in his sights as he raises money for charity.
Last month, the 35-year-old comedian took aim at the MP over her speech on refugees ‘pretending to be gay’ in a sarcasm ladened letter.
This time, Suella’s comments on homelessness being a ‘lifestyle choice’ have attracted not only his sharp-tongued wit but sprung Joe into taking action.
In a thread on X – formerly Twitter – she wrote: ‘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.’
There has been online backlash to the comments, with many pointing out that homelessness – especially in winter – is rarely a lifestyle choice.
Joe wasn’t going to miss out on the opportunity to do good while roasting the Home Secretary and took to Instagram to start a fundraiser for Crisis UK.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said homelessness was a ‘lifestyle choice’ (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
‘My old friend Suella Braverman has described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”,’ he captioned a picture of a potpourri bowl.
In the post, which hopes to raise £50,000 for the charity, he tagged the Home Secretary but she has not responded to the backlash publicly.
‘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_uk.’
Crisis UK aim to relieve the pressures of homelessness, providing numerous support functions and campaigning for political change.
In an update on the fundraiser, Joe shared that the ‘potpourri for crisis’ has raised £35,000 in ‘less than 48 hours’ – hitting the £37k mark hours later.
He reminded his 1.3million followers to use Gift Aid, ‘as it means Suella’s government then have to add an additional 25% towards it. lol.’
The latest government estimate suggests 2,893 people were sleeping rough in the UK on a single night in June 2023, up 445 from March 2023.
In London between July and September 2023, a total of 4,068 people were spotted sleeping rough, according to the latest Chain figures.
Suella wrote on X: ‘What I want to stop, and what the law abiding majority wants us to stop, is those who cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities.’
Metro has contacted the Home Secretary’s office and Joe Lycett’s team for comment.
You can donate to Joe’s fundraiser through his Instagram post or directly at Crisis.
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Joe’s back in action.