CNN
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A British comedian appeared to shred £10,000 ($11,000) in a video after failing to receive a response from David Beckham over his controversial role as Qatar’s World Cup ambassador.
On Sunday, Joe Lycett began tweeting an hourly countdown to his UK lunchtime deadline (7am ET). At 1200 GMT he posted a video of himself shredding the cash on www.benderslikebeckham.com, a website to which Lycett had tweeted links.
He later posted it to his social media accounts with the caption ‘a platform for progress’, likely a reference to a statement the football star made in a pre-recorded message at the Committee’s Generation Amazing youth festival. Qatar’s supreme in Doha, where he used those words to describe this year’s World Cup.
On November 13, Lycett, who describes himself as queer on his website, posted a video on Twitter, saying he would donate £10,000 to charities supporting “queer people in football” or put the money in the chipper, as well as “Beckham’s reputation as a gay icon”, if the former England captain did not cut ties with Qatar within the week. Homosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison.
Beckham did not respond and, in the video posted to her Twitter feed on Sunday, Lycett appeared to put piles of cash in an industrial shredder while wearing a rainbow-colored top.
He then bowed to the camera and walked away. The comedian did not immediately respond to CNN when asked to confirm if he shredded any real money.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy recently told CNN that the 2022 World Cup will be “an inclusive and safe tournament” and said “everyone is welcome, regardless of race, origin, religion, sex, orientation or nationality”.
Earlier this week, world football’s governing body FIFA referred CNN to the Supreme Delivery and Legacy Committee over any comments relating to Lycett’s criticism of Beckham and Qatar.
Beckham, contacted by CNN on Nov. 14 through his reps, declined to comment on criticism surrounding his ambassadorship. CNN reached out to their reps after Lycett appeared to shred some cash, but did not receive a response as of press time.
“Qatar dreamed of taking the World Cup to a place it had never been before, but achieving things on the pitch wouldn’t be enough,” Beckham said at the youth festival. “The land would be a platform for progress.
“Dreams can come true. That’s why you’re here. You share Generation Amazing’s dual passion for football and for making the world a more tolerant and inclusive place.
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released in October documented alleged beatings and sexual harassment in detention. According to victims interviewed by Human Rights Watch, security forces allegedly forced transgender women to attend conversion therapy sessions at a government-sponsored “behavioral health” center.
“Qatari authorities must end impunity for violence against LGBT people. The world is watching,” said Rasha Younes of Human Rights Watch.
A Qatari official told CNN that HRW’s allegations “contain information that is categorically and unequivocally false.”
Lycett, however, took aim at Beckham.
“You are the first Premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like Attitude, to speak openly about your gay fans,” Lycett said in last week’s video message.
“Now it’s 2022. And you’ve signed a £10m deal with Qatar to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup.”
“If you don’t, by noon next Sunday I will be throwing that money in a paper shredder just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and streaming it live on a website I have registered called benderslikebeckham .com.”
Lycett is not the first person or group to criticize Beckham for his ambassadorship.
Adelaide United player Josh Cavallo, who came out as gay last year, told CNN Sport he would like to see Beckham use his platform to support the LGBTQ community instead of promoting the Qatari government.
“If someone like David Beckham with his platform bypasses us and becomes an ally that we want him to be, that’s really helpful.
“If he could take the next step and show what he means to the LGBTQ community, that would be fantastic.”
