Thousands of people watched on as comedian Joe Lycett appeared to shred £10,000 of his own cash after issuing an ultimatum to David Beckham to pull out of his role as the Qatar ambassador at the World Cup. The comic issued a plea to the former England footballer after it was reported he had signed a £10 million deal with the FIFA World Cup hosts.
The contest kicks off today in Qatar – where homosexuality is still illegal and anyone found participating in same-sex, sexual activity can be punished with up to seven years in prison. Birmingham-born comedian Lycett unveiled the deadline last week in a video message posted on social media in which he offered to donate £10,000 of his own money to LGBTQ+ charities if Beckham ended the sponsorship before the tournament started.
If not, Lycett promised to livestream himself shredding the money along with Beckham’s “status as gay icon”. Beckham did not appear to publicly acknowledge or respond to the ultimatum, prompting Lycett on Saturday to begin counting down the hours until the deadline on social media.
