British comedian appears to shred $11,800 in a protest video over David Beckham's controversial role as Qatar World Cup ambassador

• A comedian challenged David Beckham to leave his Qatar World Cup role over its LGBTQ record.
• Joe Lycett said he would donate $11,800 to LGBTQ charities if Beckham left the role, or shred it if not.

A British comedian tricked people into thinking tha he shredded more than $11,000 in a protest over David Beckham's ambassador role for the Qatar World Cup, after offering the ex-soccer player an ultimatum, before later revealing he had given the money to charity.

Comedian Joe Lycett first challenged Beckham on November 13 to leave his role with Qatar over the country's LGBTQ rights record.

He noted the former soccer player's deal was reportedly worth around £10 million (around $11.8 million), and said he would donate £10,000 ($11,800) of his own money to LGBTQ charities if Beckham left his World Cup ambassadorial role, or shred it if the former England captain did not.

But Beckham did not leave the role or acknowledge Lycett's challenge, and Lycett on Sunday livestreamed himself appearing to destroy the money, putting it into a shredder before bowing as he wore a rainbow-colored poofy outfit.

—Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 20, 2022

On Monday, Lycett revealed that he had not shredded the money, and said he had given it to charity before he even first challenged Beckham.

"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," he said.

"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," he added.

—Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 21, 2022

Lycett's challenge to Beckham generated headlines across the UK.

Qatar has a poor LGBTQ rights record, with homosexuality illegal in the country.

Beckham was criticised by human rights campaigners for his role, which many reports described as being part of a deal worth much more than £10 million.

In his first video, Lycett described Beckham as a gay icon. "You were the first Premiership footballer to do shoots with gay magazines like 'Attitude,' to speak openly about your gay fans," he said, also noting that Beckham had often talked about the power of football as a force for good.

—Joe Lycett (@joelycett) November 13, 2022

Lycett had said in that first video that if he shredded the cash "not just the money, but also your [Beckham's] status as a gay icon will be shredded."

While Beckham did not publicly respond to Lycett's challenge, he did defend Qatar on Thursday, saying the country believed that "the pitch would be a platform for progress."