Joe Lycett appeared to shred £10,000 of his own money as part of a protest against David Beckham's role as ambassador for Qatar - just as the World Cup kicks off.
The comedian fed the money into a shredder one week after warning the footballer in a video message that he would do so unless Beckham cut ties with his ambassador role, which will reportedly net him £150 million over 10 years. Highlighting David's support of the LGBTQ+ community in the past and status as a "gay icon", Lycett called out the deal given the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Qatar.
34-year-old Joe is far from alone in his criticism - many football fans have questioned why Qatar was allowed to host the World Cup given its human rights record, with critics highlighting in particular the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the country. FIFA bosses have repeatedly defended the move, with president Gianni Infantino assuring that "everyone is welcome" in Qatar during a press conference on Saturday.
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Last weekend on 13 November, the comedian posted a video on social media in which he addressed the footballing legend directly. "This is a message to David Beckham. I consider you, along with Kim Woodburn and Monty Don, to be a gay icon," Joe began.
"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. But now it's 2022, and you signed a reported £10 million deal with Qatar to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup.
"Qatar was voted one of the worst places in the world to be gay," he continued. "Homosexuality is illegal, punishable by imprisonment - and if you're Muslim, possibly even death.
"You've always talked about the power of football as a force for good, which suggest to me that you've never seen West Brom - but generally, I agree. So with that in mind, I'm giving you a choice."
Brandishing what appeared to be a stack of notes, Joe issued the ultimatum to Beckham: "If you end your relationship with Qatar, I'll donate this 10 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, at midday next Sunday I will throw this money into a shredder just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup, and stream it live on a website I've registered called benderslikebeckham.com.
"Not just the money, but also your status as a gay icon will be shredded. You'll be forcing me to commit a crime - although even then, I reckon I'll get off more lightly than I would if I got caught w****** off a lad in Doha. The choice is yours."
A week later, David Beckham had yet to publicly respond to the video - so today, Sunday 20 November, the comedian stayed true to his word. Appearing in a live video dressed in an outfit bearing the colours of the Pride flag, Joe picked up what appeared to be large stacks of cash and fed them into a shredder before curtsying and walking off screen.
The move has left fans divided, with some criticising Lycett for shredding the money rather than giving it to charity anyway, while others praised him for making a statement and raising awareness of LGBTQ+ rights.
"While I understand you are making a point, all I can think about all the people who are struggling financially," one Twitter user admitted.
Another wrote: "If Beckham didn't get back to him, then he should have made a point of donating the money to charity and calling for Becks to do the same with his. Imagine how life changing 10k is to most people?"
But many others disagreed, with one fan writing: "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."
Someone else added: "This has raised awareness of how little people still value LGBTQ lives, it's raised awareness of how people who claim to be allies can be bought and it raises awareness of how vile this whole farce of a world cup is... that's a lot for 10k."
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