British Comedian Joe Lycett ‘Shreds’ £10,000 To Protest David Beckham’s Qatar World Cup Deal

British comedian Joe Lycett has ‘shredded’ £10,000 of his own money to protest David Beckham’s ambassadorship for the 2022 WorldCup in Qatar.

Beckham had controversially signed a £10 million deal to act as an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup. 

Lycett, who is pansexual, had challenged Beckham to pull out of the deal before the opening ceremony of the World Cup, even offering to donate £10,000 of his own money to charity, if he did.  However, If he did not, then Lycett would shred the money.

Deadline Comes and Goes

Well, the deadline came and went. Before noon on Sunday, Lycett posted the shredding video with the caption, “A platform for progress.”

The 49-second video starts with a stack of cash on a table and a wood chipper in the background.

Wearing a rainbow number, Lycett appears on camera, picks up the stacks of cash, and throws them into the wood chipper. He curtsies and walks off-camera. 

Lycett subsequently clarified that he had not shredded real currency notes and had in fact donated £10,000 to LGBTQI charities. 

“A platform for progress” pic.twitter.com/EeMelv01nu

— Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 20, 2022

‘Not Just the Money, But Also Your Status as a Gay Icon will be Shredded’

On November 13, in the initial video, Lycett issued the challenge, saying, “This is a message to David Beckham. I consider you, along with Kim Woodburn and Monty Don, to be a gay icon. You were the first premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like Attitude, to speak openly about your gay fans, and you married a Spice Girl which is the gayest thing a human being can do.”

He went on to say, “If you end your relationship with Qatar I will donate 10 grand of my own money to charities that support queer people in football.

“However, if you do not I will throw the money into a shredder at midday next Sunday, just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and stream it right here. Not just the money, but also your status as a gay icon will be shredded.”

https://t.co/FqoC3hSFM8 🌈 pic.twitter.com/EPLVNwmnvV

— Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 13, 2022

Earlier this week with less than four days to go, Lycett, in a message to Beckham’s public relations team, wrote, “I’ve managed to get myself into a bit of a pickle – I’ve been a bit daft and publicly announced that I’m going to shred £10k on Sunday if David doesn’t end his relationship with Qatar, or donate the cash to LGBTQ+ charities if he does, yet we’re now four days out and I haven’t heard a peep from him.

“Could you do me a solid and let me know if there’s any chance he might budge on his position, or am I to expect radio silence on this? I really don’t want to shred ten grand!!! I also really don’t want a national treasure that has historically supported the LGBTQ+ community to publicly endorse and advertise a nation-state that has an appalling human rights record and has the death penalty for gays – call me old fashioned!!!!!!”

“There’s still time for David and his team to do the right thing,”

An email to Beckham’s PR. Less than 4 days to go. #benderslikebeckham 🌈 pic.twitter.com/ANikkvfFjw

— Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 16, 2022

Earlier this month, inews reported that a gay man who lived in Qatar came forward and revealed that he was a victim of a gang rape by Qatari police.

In October, Australian-born LGBTQI and human rights activist, Peter Tatchell called on football fans to boycott the 2022 WorldCup.

In a conversation with Star Observer, Tatchell said, “I encourage all football fans to boycott the WorldCup. Anyone who goes there is playing into the hands of the Qatari regime.”