Joe Lycett has confirmed that the £10,000 he put through a shredder after urging David Beckham to give up his role as an ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar was actually fake cash.
The comedian has given his final message to the footballer and admitted he was not telling the truth about loading the the stunt aimed at the 'gay icon' footballer.
He says the money that went into the machine was real, but what came out, was not. Instead Joe donated the amount to LGBTQ+ charities. The comedian went on to say while he didn't shred his cash, he has found something else to shred - Beckham's Attitude magazine cover from June 2002.
It comes after outrage on social media as users blasted the comic for "wasting money" during a cost of living crisis.
In a video addressed to the former Manchester United footy ace, Joe said: "This is my final message to David Beckham.
"It's me! That p**** who shredded loads of money in a cost of living crisis. So where were we? 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.
"And then when you didn't end you relationship or even respond in anyway, I streamed myself dropping £10,000 into a shredder.
"Or did I? I haven't quite told you the whole truth because the truth is, the money that went into the shredder was real, but the money that came out was fake.
"I would never destroy real money. I would never be so irresponsible. In fact the £10,000 had already been donated to LBGTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial tweet last week.
"I never expected to hear from you."
The stunt, which was posted on Sunday afternoon to the website BenderslikeBeckham.com, showed Joe destroying the tender on the first day of the tournament.
The issue of workers' and LGBTQ+ rights in Qatar is still a hot topic in the build up to the 2022 World Cup, with the former footballer coming under fire for signing a £150m contract with Qatar over 10 years.
FIFA's decision to host the tournament in the middle eastern country has come under fire, because of its poor human rights history, mistreatment of migrants and criminalisation of homosexuality.
On Monday, Joe told his followers that the stunt was an empty threat and was designed to get people talking.
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