Joe Lycett admits he didn't shred real money in David Beckham stunt
- Joe Lycett has revealed that no real money was really shredded in his livestream on Sunday
- The comedian had appeared to destroy £10,000 in protest of David Beckham acting as an ambassador for Qatar
- Lycett says: "I would never destroy real money. I would never be so irresponsible". The cash has been donated to charity
Joe Lycett has admitted that he didn't shred any real money in his stunt that was livestreamed on Sunday.
The comedian had appeared to make good on his threat to shred £10,000 of his own money if David Beckham didn't back out of his deal with World Cup hosts Qatar. The retired football star has received a reported £10 million to act as an ambassador for the Arabian country, host of the 2022 men's football world cup. An Islamic state, homosexual acts are punishable with fines, prison sentences, or even execution.
However, in an update video Lycett has revealed that whilst the money that went into the shredder was real, it was a stunt machine which saw fake shredded money blow out the other side.
Streamed at noon on Sunday, the act generated many headlines and much discussion on social media platforms, with many noting that the comedian should have donated the cash to charity regardless. In his update video posted today, Lycett has admitted he did just that.
See X post
The full text of the video is as follows: "This is my final message to David Beckham. It's me! That price who shredded loads of money in a cost of living crisis. So where were we? I told you I was going to destroy £10,000 if you didn't end your relationship with Qatar before the first day of the World Cup. And then when you didn't end your relationship or even respond in any way, I streamed myself dropping 10k into a shredder.
"Or did I? I haven't quite told you the whole truth. Because the truth is, the money that went into the shredder was real, but the money that came out was fake. I would never destroy real money. I would never be so irresponsible.
"In fact, the ten grand had already been donated to LGBTQ+ charities before I even pressed send on the initial tweet last week.
"I never expected to hear from you. It was an empty threat designed to get people talking. In many ways, it was like your deal with Qatar, David. Total bullshit from the start. I'm not even queer - only joking.
"There is one thing I'll shred. This is your Attitude magazine cover from June 2002, the first ever cover of a gay magazine with a Premiere League footballer on it. I asked Attitude if I could shred it and they were more than happy to oblige.
"Gosh. It's all been quite a lot this, hasn't it? Right. I'm off down the gay village to have a few pints."
Here is the footage from the live stream of the moment the money appeared to be destroyed:
As BCG revealed recently, Joe Lycett will be back on screens in mid-December with a Christmas special of his consumer justice format Joe Lycett's Got Your Back.
Meanwhile Lycett has just released Joe Lycett - More, More, More! How Do You Lycett? How Do You Lycett?, a recording of his live show in which he recounts how he performed a large scale LGBTQ+ linked stunt.