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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Kate Lally

Joe Lycett breaks silence after 'shredding £10,000'

Comedian Joe Lycett has hit headlines in recent weeks after challenging David Beckham to cut his ties to Qatar.

David Beckham was hit with an ultimatum to pull out of his role as a Qatar ambassador or Joe said he would destroy the cash. The comic set the former England footballer a deadline of midday on Sunday (November 20) to take action after it was reported Beckham had signed a controversial £10m deal with the Fifa World Cup hosts Qatar.

In Qatar homosexuality is illegal and anyone found participating in same-sex sexual activity can be punished with up to seven years in prison.

READ NEXT: Joe Lycett threatens to shred £10,000 if David Beckham doesn't drop out of World Cup

Lycett offered to donate £10,000 of his own money to LGBTQ+ charities if Beckham ended the sponsorship before the tournament started, and if not he said he would livestream himself shredding the money along with Beckham's "status as gay icon".

Appearing to stand by his decision, the Birmingham-born comedian videoed himself on a Twitch stream wearing a rainbow-layered tulle outfit and placed wads of what appeared to be cash into an industrial shredder, but it was not clear if the banknotes were genuine money.

Joe Lycett has delivered a new message to David Beckham (Twitter/Joe Lycett)

Taking to Twitter on Monday, he delivered a new message to David Beckham. Addressing the former England legend, Joe said: "It's me, the p**** who shredded loads of money in a cost of living crisis.

"I told you I was going to destroy £10,000 if you didn't end your relationship with Qatar before the first day of the World Cup.

"When you didn't end your relationship, or respond in any way, I streamed myself dropping 10K into a shredder. Or did I? The truth is the money that went into the shredder was real, but the money that came out was fake.

"I would never be so irresponsible. In fact, the ten grand had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities".

He added: "It was an empty threat, designed to get people talking. It was In many ways, it was like your deal with Qatar, David. Total bulls*** from the start".

Mr Lycett then shredded David Beckham's Attitude magazine cover from 2002, the first ever cover of a gay magazine with a Premier League footballer on the cover.

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