Comedian Joe Lycett has admitted helium was down a Wizard of Oz-themed artwork successful Birmingham that was compared to works by Banksy - 1 of respective fake quality stories helium planted successful the media successful caller weeks.
The 35-year-old comic says the mendacious Dorothy was 1 of a fig of untrue tales helium managed to sneak into several established media outlets successful caller weeks.
Speculation astir the authorship of the portion - which appeared to mimic Banksy's benignant of integrating their artwork into the surrounding situation - adjacent forced the artist's spokesperson to contented a blunt denial they were responsible.
Lycett revealed his trickery connected his caller bid of Late Night Lycett on Channel 4 on Friday night.
He said helium planted the Banksy story, arsenic good arsenic 3 different fake caller stories, to instrumentality up abstraction successful the media that would different person been utilized to 'spread hate, misery and pictures of Amanda Holden'.
Comedian Joe Lycett has admitted helium was down of respective fake quality stories helium planted successful the media successful caller weeks
The 35-year-old comic says the mendacious Banksy-looking Dorothy artwork was 1 of a fig of untrue tales helium managed to sneak into respective established media outlets successful caller weeks
Speculation astir the authorship of the portion - which appeared to mimic Banksy's benignant of integrating their artwork into the surrounding situation - adjacent forced the artist's spokesperson to contented a blunt denial they were responsible
His different fake stories were a five-a-side footballer from Birmingham having a bruise connected his thigh that resembled Prince Harry's face, probe showing that men from Birmingham person the longest penises successful the UK and an eight-foot-tall statue of H from Steps being erected successful his hometown of Cowbridge successful Wales.
Media organisations that fell for 1 of the pranks see BBC News, The Sun, The Daily Star, ITV News, Sky News and the Independent.
MailOnline covered the communicative astir the five-a-side shot bruise which bore an uncanny resemblance to Prince Harry's look connected March 19.
Some of the suspected hoaxes, similar the woman who thought she rescued a hedgehog that turned retired to beryllium a chapeau bobble and the North Korean enactment implicit Alan Titchmarsh's trousers, turned retired to beryllium real.
Lycett said the communicative astir Ian 'H' Watkins from Steps had been 'covered everywhere... they adjacent discussed it connected BBC Breakfast'.
Speaking to BBC Wales consecutive aft the show, Watkins said: 'I'm large friends with Joe and helium had this thought that helium wanted to make amusive fake quality to deflect distant from each of the atrocious fake quality – and it worked!
Ian 'H' Watkins from Steps promoted the hoax communicative connected his Instagram page
MailOnline was fooled by the communicative of a bruise which looked similar Prince Harry's face
It was claimed the bruise was caused by a collision af five-a-side football
Lycett revealed his trickery connected his caller bid of Late Night Lycett connected Channel 4 connected Friday nighttime (pictured)
The comedian is well-known for spreading mischief and has publicised respective pranks implicit the years
Joe Lycett shredded £10,000 successful a wood-chipper to protestation against David Beckham's £10million arguable ambassadorial relation astatine the 2022 men's World Cup, held successful the homophobic state of Qatar, though the wealth was aboriginal revealed to beryllium fake
'And a batch of these stories person gone unnoticed – this 1 did for a agelong time.'
'I emotion that Joe has enactment this connected a nationalist platform, erstwhile determination is truthful overmuch hatred and we tin radiance a small airy connected immoderate joyousness and thing funny,' helium said.
'It was the astir ridiculous but radical bought it, I had to substance my parent and spell mum conscionable to fto you cognize this is gonna happen, and she said "I volition accidental nothing".'
Watkins said the hoax had deflected from a batch of antagonistic quality successful the media, and 'shone a spotlight connected radical who beryllium down keyboards and they whinge and they whine and they don’t contribute'.
Lycett past proceeded to uncover that helium was down the fabricated communicative that 'Brummies person the biggest penises' aft The Daily Star reported: 'A caller yearly survey by Myriad Researching for Spartan Layers, a apical men's underwear brand, recovered that blokes successful Birmingham person the biggest mean manhoods successful the UK.'
The comedian, from Birmingham, is known for his stunts and pranks.
Last year, the comedian teased the nationalist with a stunt to motorboat his fake podcast, Turdcast, successful which a elephantine inflatable toilet helium dubbed 'the Turdis' accidentally 'leaked' fake sewage into Liverpool Docks.
The spillage was aboriginal revealed to beryllium marine mud, which had nary biology oregon biologic interaction connected the habitat.
In 2020, helium changed his sanction to Hugo Boss successful protestation astatine the monolithic German manner marque sending cease-and-desist letters to immoderate tiny businesses and charities who utilized 'boss' successful their names.
He besides shredded £10,000 successful a wood-chipper to protest against David Beckham's arguable ambassadorial relation astatine the 2022 men's World Cup, held successful the homophobic state of Qatar, though the wealth was aboriginal revealed to beryllium fake.
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