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.
There were roughly 2,700 people tuned into the Twitch livestream via the website benderslikebeckham.com around 15 minutes before Lycett appeared on the screen, but as the minutes counted down, that went up to more than 12,000.
As midday hit, Joe appeared on the screen wearing a flamboyant multi-coloured outfit and protective gear as he casually walked up to a woodchipper and placed the piles of notes in the machine, sending bits of paper fluttering through the air.
He curtsied at the camera and then the livestream was over in a matter of seconds after that.
In a video message directed at Beckham before the livestream, Lycett commended the footballer for always talking about “the power of football as a force for good” but said Qatar is “one of the worst places in the world to be gay”.
Lycett told the footballer: “If you end your relationship with Qatar I will donate ten grand of my own money (that’s a grand for every million you’re reportedly getting) 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 gay icon will be shredded.
There has been a mixed response from fans of the comedian, who has appeared on a host of comedy shows over the years including Live At The Apollo, Taskmaster, 8 Out of 10 Cats and also fronts Channel 4’s consumer rights show, Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back. Many took to social media to urge the star to donate the money to a food bank rather than shredding it at a time when the cost of living is soaring.
One Twitter user wrote: “Just a thought @joelycett but shredding it does nobody any good. Maybe giving it to a queer charity or a food bank would be more useful.”
Another tweeted: “Joe, are you really going to do this? I totally respect and agree why, but £10,000? It may be small change to Becks and the Qatar moguls, but a lot of people are living on fresh air at the minute.”
After the livestream, one Twitter user said: "Joe Lycett shredded the money! However uncomfortable that makes you feel, the fact that David Beckham is adding 10 million to his current multimillion pound fortune from an abusive regime, should make you more comfortable."
Another, defending the comedian's actions, said: "For the people missing the point. It's Joe's money. If he'd have bought a watch or a car we wouldn't have cared. The point isn't about him shredding money, it's about highlighting the issues with celebrities taking far greater sums from a country with an awful human rights record."
Joe acknowledged what he had done with a tweet sharing the livestream alongside the caption: "A platform for progress”
