British comedian Joe Lycett has followed through on a threat to shred £10,000 (NZ$19,323) after demanding David Beckham step down as an ambassador of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Lycett last week called on the former footballer to tear up his promotional deal with Qatar due to the discrimination of the rainbow community in the middle eastern country.
After no response from Beckham, Lycett posted a video to Twitter today where he threw the cash into a wood chipper before curtsying and walking off.
The caption read “a platform for progress”.
Lycett had promised to donate the money to charity if Beckham ditched his deal.
He registered a website for the campaign called benderslikebeckham. com, saying that Beckham’s “status as a gay icon” meant what he was doing was wrong.
“This is a message to David Beckham.
I consider you, along with Kim Woodburn and Monty Don, to be a gay icon,” Lycett earlier said.
“You’ll be forcing me to commit a crime. ”
There have been long-standing issues regarding the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in Qatar, with fresh scrutiny of their record as the ball gets rolling at the competition.
In an interview with German television, an ambassador for the World Cup called homosexuality “damage in the mind”.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and carries a punishment of up to three years in prison and a fine, with the possibility of a death penalty for Muslims under Sharia law..
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