Celebrities

Joe Lycett calls on David Beckham to drop Qatar ambassador role – or he’ll shred £10,000 cash live on camera

Joe Lycett calls on David Beckham to drop Qatar ambassador role – or he’ll shred £10,000 cash live on camera
Joe Lycett claims he'll shred £10,000 if David Beckham drops Qatar partnership
Joe Lycett

It goes without saying that Joe Lycett must be protected at all costs. He’s angered The Daily Mail by derailing a BBC interview with Liz Truss, ripped into the Tory government’s foreign policy at the Commonwealth Games, and managed to slip the phrase “I’ve got a smelly bum bum” into parliamentary records.

Now, he’s firing shots at David Beckham.

Well, not literally, as we imagine footballer Beckham is far better at that.

Nevertheless, the former England player has come under fire for being a paid ambassador for Qatar, the country set to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup despite having a shocking record on LGBTQ+ rights.

Under the state’s Penal Code of 2004, “sodomy” and homosexual activity are illegal, with anyone found to have broken the law facing up to seven years imprisonment.

The Three Lions Pride group of LGBTQ+ England fans described it as “incredibly disappointing” and Lycett, who identifies as pansexual (meaning he is attracted to all gender identities), obviously isn’t happy about it either.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

In a video shared to social media on Sunday afternoon, the Got Your Back presenter addressed “gay icon” Beckham directly.

He said: “You were the first premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like Attitude, to speak openly about your gay fans, and you married a Spice Girl - which is the gayest thing a human being can do.

“But now it’s 2022 and you’ve signed a reported £10 million deal with Qatar, to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup. Qatar was voted as the one of the worst places in the world to be gay - homosexuality is illegal, punishable by imprisonment, and if you’re Muslim, possibly even death.

“You have always talked about the power of football as a force for good - which suggests to me you have never seen West Brom - but generally, I agree. So with that in mind, I’m giving you a choice.”

Lycett then went on to show a bundle of £10,000 in cash - representing a grand for every million Beckham is reportedly receiving from Qatar - saying that he will donate ten grand of his own money to queer football charities.

“However, if you do not, at midday next Sunday, I will throw this money into a shredder, just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup,” he said.

And that’s not all. He continued to say the destruction would be streamed live on a website called ‘B***ers Like Beckham’, and that his “status as a gay icon” would also be shredded.

“You'll be forcing me to commit what might be a crime. Although even then, I reckon I'll get off more lightly than I would if I got caught whacking off a lad in Doha.

“The choice is yours. I look forward to hearing from you,” he concluded.

David Beckham’s representatives have been contacted by Indy100 for comment.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Conversation (0)
x