Joe Lycett has shared a “final message” for David Beckham as he confirmed his £10K “shredding” stunt over the weekend was actually fake.
Earlier this month, the comedian gave David a very public ultimatum over the former England captain’s ambassadorship deal with Qatar, which has been reported to be worth £10 million.
In a video posted on social media, Joe claimed that if David pulled out of the deal he would donate £10K of his own money to charities supporting queer people – but if he didn’t, the comic would shred the money instead.
When David failed to remove himself from the deal, or even acknowledge Joe’s campaigning, the former Sewing Bee host shared a clip on Sunday in which he appeared to shred £10K in cash.
However, in a follow-up video posted on Monday morning, Joe admitted the whole thing was a staged stunt.
Jokingly introduced himself as “that prick who shredded loads of money in a cost of living crisis”, Joe addressed David directly, saying: “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 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.”
He continued: “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 initial 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 bullshit from the start.”
“There is one thing I’ll shred,” Joe added, holding up David’s old Attitude magazine cover from June 2002, remarking it was “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,” he explained, before pushing the cover through a shredder.
“Gosh,” he concluded. “It’s all been quite a lot this, hasn’t it? Right, I’m off down the gay village to have a few pints.”
The video was uploaded shortly after it was announced that England, Wales and other European countries who were set to wear One Love armbands in a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community had U-turned on their decision.
Joe isn’t the only public figure to have criticised David Beckham over his agreement with Qatar, with former Strictly Come Dancing finalist John Whaite saying: “I think it’s disgusting, he’s cheapening himself.”
Meanwhile, Gary Lineker has also been accused of “having it both ways” after criticising Qatar’s human rights issues during a speech broadcast live from the country, and Gary Neville recently took a grilling over his own involvement in the World Cup during a taping of Have I Got News For You.