Comedian Joe Lycett has less than 24 hours until he must decide whether to stick with a pledge to shred £10,000 if David Beckham doesn't abandon his role as an ambassador to Qatar. Lycett has offered to donate the sum to LGBTQ+ charities if Beckham ends the sponsorship before the tournament begins this weekend - but, if the former England footballer refuses, he has promised to "throw the money into a shredder" at midday on Sunday (November 20).
Beckham has reportedly signed a £10million deal with the FIFA World Cup hosts. Homosexuality is still illegal in Qatar and anyone found participating in same-sex, sexual activity can be punished with up to seven years in prison.
Lycett unveiled the deadline last week in a video message posted on social media. He said he would livestream himself shredding the money along with Beckham’s “status as gay icon”.
In the video message, Lycett commended Beckham 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”. He told the star: “If you end your relationship with Qatar I will donate 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 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 a gay icon will be shredded.
“Also you’ll be forcing me to commit what might be a crime.”
Beckham is yet to publicly acknowledge or respond to the ultimatum, prompting Lycett to begin counting down the hours until the deadline. On Saturday the comedian tweeted a photograph of what appears to be a stack of cash with the caption “24 hours to go…” and #benderslikeBeckham.
This follows a tweet on Friday of an image of a large woodchipper with the caption “48 hours to go”. The PA news agency said there had been a "mixed response" towards the pledge from fans of the comedian, who has appeared on comedy shows including Live At The Apollo, Taskmaster, 8 Out of 10 Cats and Channel 4’s consumer rights show Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back.
PA said social media users had to urged Lycett to donate the money to a food bank rather than shredding it at a time when the cost of living is soaring. Beckham and Lycett’s representatives were contacted for comment.
