Comedian Joe Lycett said he would ‘never be so irresponsible’ to shred £10,000 and the stunt was to get people talking

21 November 2022, 12:27

By Fran Way

@journofran

Comedian Joe Lycett has said he would ‘never be so irresponsible’ to shred £10,000 and admitted that the stunt was an elaborate plot to get people talking.

Last week the funny-man gave David Beckham an ultimatum. The choice: if Beckham ends his relationship with Qatar then Lycett would donate £10,000 – a grand for every million Beckham is earning – to charities supporting queer people in football. If he doesn’t: Lycett would shred the money live on a website he made called Benderslikebeckham.com

It comes after controversy that Beckham, who has traditionally supported the gay community including becoming the first premier league footballer to appear on queer magazines, signed a £10million deal to be the ambassador for the World Cup in Qatar – which was voted the worst country on the planet to be gay.

In Qatar homosexuality is illegal and punishable by imprisonment and even death if you’re Muslim.

In a video last week, Mr Lycett told Beckham: “You’ve always talked about the power of football as a force for good which suggests to me that you’ve never seen West Brom. But generally, I agree.

“So, with that in mind, I’m giving you a choice. If you end your relationship with Qatar, I’ll donate this 10 grand of my own money, it’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 this money into a shredder just before the opening of the World Cup and stream it live on my website.”

By mid-week Beckham hadn’t responded, so Lycett shared a screenshot of the email he sent to his team, saying: “Could you do me a solid and let me know if there’s any chance he might budge on his position, or am I to expect radio silence on this?

“I really don’t want to shred ten grand!!! I also really don’t want a national treasure that has historically supported the LGBTQ+ community to publicly endorse and advertise a nation state that has appalling human rights record and has the death penalty for gays – call me old fashioned.”

But there was still nothing coming from David or his team, so keeping to his word on Sunday afternoon Joe Lycett shared a video of him in a bright rainbow coloured mesh jacket seemingly picking up the wads of cash and shredding them in a bright orange chipper.

However, this morning, the comedian has admitted that it was just an illusion, confirming in a video on social media: “I haven’t quite told you the whole truth.

“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 grand had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the original tweet last week. I never expected to hear from you. It was an empty threat designed to get people talking.

“In many ways it was like your deal with Qatar, David. Total [rubbish] from the start.

“There is one thing I’ll shred. This is your Attitude Magazine cover from June 2002, the first ever cover of a gay magazine with a Premier League footballer on it. I asked Attitude if I could shred it and they were more than happy to oblige.”