Joe Lycett has candidly discussed the public’s misconceptions about his sexuality on a parenting podcast, revealing details about his family life.
The 36-year-old comedian surprised fans when he announced in October that he had become a father to a baby boy with his partner, known only as “Denise” to maintain her anonymity. Despite many assuming Joe was gay, he embraced fatherhood and shared his experiences on Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe’s podcast Parenting Hell.
Rob Beckett humorously acknowledged the unexpected nature of Joe’s announcement at the start of the podcast, noting that many thought it was one of Joe’s elaborate pranks.
“It’s the first time we’ve had a parent on the show that when they announced that they were having a child everyone thought it was a prank, so that will be interesting,” said Rob, setting the tone for an intriguing discussion.
Joe then delved into how his life has transformed since becoming a dad and addressed the ‘false’ assumptions about his sexual orientation and the disbelief surrounding his baby news, reports the Mirror.
“I get it, you know… as you say, it’s unexpected for me to have a baby because lots of people think of me as the sort of gay bloke off the telly, essentially,” Joe explained, confronting the stereotypes head-on.
Joe said: “But I have, in most of the times that I’ve talked about my sexuality, been open about the fact that I’m not gay. But I do think that’s interesting, I think there’s loads of good stand up in it, but it’s just kind of caught me off guard…”
He has previously identified as pansexual, but found it difficult to explain the term to those outside the community. On the podcast, Joe and the hosts discussed his past stand-up routines where he referred to himself as bisexual.
Rob said: “I’ve known you for nearly 15 years now. When we started together, your opening joke would be, I think it was bisexual you’d say-“
Joe joked: “Yeah, you’re all at risk!” He added: “But yeah, so that’s it. I have sort of talked about it. Of course, not everyone needs to know everything about me, but it’s just so interesting.”
“People who don’t know that much about me have seen maybe a quick clip, just go, ‘gay bloke.’ And when they see that other bit of information, they go, ‘Oh don’t know! You know, robot’s going off-course.'”
The star also expressed his gratitude to his fans earlier this week, sending a heartfelt message in an email newsletter. “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)… I’m finding fatherhood to be a total delight,” he wrote.
