Adam Hills apologises to viewer after backlash over The Last Leg’s ‘gross’ World Cup parody song

Adam Hills has apologised after a World Cup parody song featured on The Last Leg sparked a backlash among viewers.

The sports comedy show caused upset when they shared their “anthem” for the football tournament on social media, after England beat Iran 6-2 on Monday (21 November).

Performed to the tune of “Three Lions”, the joke song referenced some of the controversies attached to this year’s event and its host country, such as the mistreatment of migrant workers and Qatar’s criminalisation of homosexuality.

Viewers complained about one set of lyrics in particular, which make reference to LGBTQ+ people facing violence: “But in Qatar if Alan Carr toured/ And was joined by Boy George/ And then even RuPaul/ They could end up/ Three heads on a spike.”

Many people took issue with the references to violence. “Using the imagery of dead queer people when we are murdered every day and the racist notion that Qatari people will put heads on spikes is gross,” wrote one person.

Hills, who performed the song alongside Jess Robinson, reacted to the backlash on Wednesday morning (23 November).

He responded to a person who shared the video of the song alongside the caption: “@adamhillscomedy used to like you. People were just shot and killed in Colorado for being LGBTQIA. For being themselves. Be Ashamed.”

“I’m sorry. This song was intended to be a protest at the World Cup being held in Qatar where it is illegal to be gay,” Hills replied.

Hills went on to explain that “it was filmed and aired before the horrific shooting in America”.

While the episode containing the song aired on Friday (18 November), the social media account for The Last Leg shared the clip on Monday (21 November) days after five people were killed at a mass shooting in an LGBTQ+ venue in Colorado.

Late on Saturday night (19 November), a mass shooting took place at Club Q in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and 18 people injured.

This year’s World Cup has been embroiled in controversy due to its host country, Qatar, and the concerns over human rights abuses there.

Both Morgan Freeman and David Beckham have been criticised over their promotion of the World Cup.