Joe Lycett adds pressure to David Beckham over £10,000 ultimatum
Lycett has said he'll shred £10,000 before the start of the World Cup if David Beckham doesn't break off his deal with Qatar.
Joe Lycett has doubled down on his £10,000 ultimatum to David Beckham if he doesn’t end his multimillion-pound deal with Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
On Sunday (13 November), Lycett posted a video across his socials addressing Beckham, threatening to shred the wad of cash if the former England player doesn’t rescind his ambassador status with the World Cup host.
It’s illegal to be gay in Qatar with punishments including prison sentences or even death. The advocacy group Human Rights Watch recently reported that six LGBTQ Qataris had been beaten and sexually harassed while in police custody. These reports were denied by Qatar.
It seems Beckham hasn’t responded to Lycett’s proposal, so he’s reached out directly.
Posting a screenshot of an email sent to Beckham’s PR with “less than 4 days to go,” Lycett writes: “I expect you’re having a busy week! Me too!”
“I’ve managed to get myself into a bit of a pickle – I’ve been a bit daft and publicly announced that l’m going to shred £10k on Sunday if David doesn’t end his relationship with Qatar, or donate the cash to LGBTQ+ charities if he does, yet we’re now four days out and I haven’t heard a peep from him,” the email reads.
“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!!!”
Lycett adds: “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 an appalling human rights record and has the death penalty for gays – call me old fashioned!!!!!!”
“There’s still time for David and his team to do the right thing,” the email concludes. “I’m happy to speak to you about this at any time that you find convenient. Best Wishes, Joe.”
If Beckham continues his silence, Lycett will “throw this money into a shredder just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and stream it live on a website I’ve registered called benderslikebeckham.com.”
In his original video, Lycett outlines that “Qatar was voted as one of the worst places in the world to be gay,” and Beckham’s collaboration with the host nation is disappointing for LGBTQ+ football fans and allies.
“Not just the money, but also your status as a gay icon will be shredded. You’ll be forcing me to commit a crime. Although even then I reckon I’ll get off more lightly than I would if I got caught wacking off a lad in Doha,” Lycett declared.
While Beckham has yet to respond on the issue of LGBTQ and human rights in Qatar, he’s been blasted for promoting Qatari tourism ahead of the tournament.
Many in the footballing world have been speaking against Qatar’s World Cup hosting including England footballers Jake Daniels and Beth Mead, Scotland’s Zander Murray, and Australia’s Josh Cavallo.
The FIFA World Cup will be held from 20 November to 18 December 2022.