Fifa World Cup 2022: Comedian Joe Lycett admits shredded money in David Beckham Qatar row was fake as he donates £10k to charity

Comedian Joe Lycett has claimed the £10,000 he shredded in a public stunt aimed at criticising David Beckham’s involvement as an ambassador for the Fifa World Cup in Qatar was fake.

Lycett, who appeared to destroy the money in a shredding machine during the stunt livestreamed on Sunday, said the £10,000 had instead been donated directly towards LGBTQ+ charities. He said the donation had been made even before he first aired details of the planned stunt.

The comic had set the former England footballer a deadline of midday on Sunday to take action after it was reported Beckham had signed a controversial £10 million 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 said in a video message posted to Twitter: “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 your relationship or even respond in any way, I streamed myself dropping £10k 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 ten grand had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial tweet last week.”

Lycett had previously offered to donate £10,000 of his own money to LGBTQ+ charities if Beckham ended the sponsorship before the tournament started, and if not he said he would livestream himself shredding the money along with Beckham’s “status as gay icon”.

A screenshot taken from the Twitter feed @joelycett of comedian Joe Lycett appearing to shred £10,000 of his own money after he presented David Beckham with an ultimatum to pull out of his role as a Qatar ambassador or he would destroy the cash. Picture: Joe Lycett/PA Wire

Lycett added in his latest video message: “It was an empty threat designed to get people talking. In many ways it was like your deal with Qatar, David – total bulls**t from the start.”

The comedian then proceeded the shred a copy of gay lifestyle magazine Attitude from June 2002, featuring Beckham on its front cover.