Joe Lycett has joked that Harry Styles hasn’t paid his full invoice for a painting he purchased from the British comedian.
In a video posted to TikTok, the 35-year-old comedian claimed that the Grammy-winning musician still owes him a Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter bar as payment for a painting that he made of Styles last year.
“Harry Styles bought a painting off me and has not paid his invoice,” Lycett began in a TikTok posted on June 22. The comedian explained that he had painted his own version of David Hockney’s 2023 portrait of Styles, which sees the “Watermelon Sugar” singer wearing an orange and red cardigan and a pearl necklace.
The former One Direction star had visited Hockney’s art studio in Normandy, France, to sit for a portrait, which was later displayed at London’s National Portrait Gallery in November 2023. In August last year, Lycett decided to share his own take on the piece – with Styles’ head in the shape of an egg.
“Unbelievably, he loved it so much that he asked me to buy it,” Lycett continued, sharing a screenshot of his Instagram DM conversation with Styles. At the time, the “Adore You” musician had messaged Lycett: “I think it’s incredibly important that I purchase this portrait from you. If you’d ever consider parting ways with this masterpiece, I’d like to hang it in my home immediately. Hope you’ve been well. H.”
Lycett explained that they had “agreed on the very reasonable price” of £6 ($7.61 USD) and a Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter bar in exchange for the painting. He sent the painting to the address that Styles provided, along with a certificate of authenticity that he’d signed.
“And I put an invoice in there with a reminder that payment was now due and finally, after quite a lot of nudging, something arrived,” Lycett told his 206,000 TikTok followers.
The video then cut to footage of Lycett opening a package, supposedly sent from Styles, that included £6 and a letter. “Joe, it is with tremendous… something, that I attach six pounds and a Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter,” he read from the letter. “Thank you, a pleasure. H.”
However, a Kit Kit appeared to be missing from the package as he turned it upside down. “There was no Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter. Harry has now entirely stopped responding to me,” Lycett said, showing a screenshot of their Instagram DMs and a notification that Styles had “seen” the message.
“God, I feel like Zayn [Malik],” he joked. “What do I do? What does the note say and where is my Kit Kat?”
Lycett captioned the amusing TikTok video: “Harry Styles seemingly can’t shell out for a Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter. It’s not the same as it was…”
In a follow-up video posted on June 24, the comedian claimed that he was “suing” Styles for the Kit Kat candy bar.
“This morning, I met with local Birmingham lawyer Chase Morgan – they normally deal with shoplifting and disputes about alleyways – who told me I have grounds for a case for something called specific performance,” Lycett said in the video, noting that “specific performance” would “legally instruct Harry to perform the act of giving me a Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter.”
“I will not accept a performance of ‘Watermelon Sugar’ but will consider ‘Cinema’ as that’s an absolute banger,” he quipped.
Lycett claimed that his lawyers had sent a “letter before action” to Styles’ representatives, explaining “his behavior is cruel and unusual treatment.”
“In short, I’m suing Harry Styles for a Kit Kat,” the comedian added, before revealing that the singer’s representatives have until 4pm on Wednesday, June 26, to respond to the letter before action.
“Your move, Harry,” Lycett said.
The Birmingham-born comedian is known for pulling public stunts, most notably trolling Tory politicians and mocking former UK prime minister Liz Truss during an appearance on Laura Kuenssberg’s BBC politics show in 2022.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Lycett and Styles for comment.
