CNN –
A British comedian appeared to destroy £10,000 ($11,000) in a video after failing to get 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 deadline at noon UK (7am ET). At 12pm GMT, he posted a video of himself grinding the money to www.benderslikebeckham.com, a website Lycett had been tweeting links to.
He later posted it on his social media accounts with the caption “a platform for progress”, likely a reference to a statement made by the soccer star in a pre-recorded message at the Qatar Supreme Committee’s Generation Amazing youth festival 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 through the shredder, along with “Beckham’s reputation as a gay icon”, if the former England captain did not cut ties with Qatar within a 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 his Twitter feed on Sunday, Lycett appeared to put wads of money into an industrial shredder while wearing a rainbow colored top.
He then bowed to the camera and left. The comedian did not immediately respond to CNN when asked to confirm whether he had mined 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 that “everyone is welcome, regardless of race, origin, religion, gender, orientation or nationality”.
Earlier this week, world soccer’s governing body FIFA referred CNN to the Supreme Committee on Delivery and Legacy for all comments related to Lycett’s criticism of Beckham and Qatar.
Beckham, contacted by CNN on November 14 through his representatives, declined to comment on the criticism surrounding his ambassadorship. CNN reached out to his representatives after Lycett appeared to grind money, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
“Qatar dreamed of taking the World Cup to a place it had never been before, but it would not be enough to achieve things on the pitch,” Beckham said at the youth festival. “The field would be a platform for progress.
“Dreams can come true. That’s why you’re here. You share Generation Amazing’s twin passions for soccer and making the world a more tolerant and inclusive place.”
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report published in October documented alleged cases of beatings and sexual harassment while in custody. 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 care” center.
“The Qatari authorities must end the impunity of 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 shoot with gay magazines like Attitude, to talk openly about your gay fans,” Lycett said in the video message last week.
“Now, it’s 2022. And you signed a £10 million deal with Qatar to be their ambassador during the FIFA World Cup.”
“If you don’t, next Sunday at noon I’m going to throw that money into a shredder right before the World Cup opening ceremony and stream it live to a website I’ve 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 Beckham to use his platform to support the LGBTQ community rather than promoting the Qatari government .
“If someone like David Beckham with his platform comes around us and becomes an ally that we want him to be, it’s very helpful.
“If he could take that next step and show what he means to the LGBTQ community, that would be great.”