Comedian Joe Lycett called David Beckham a ‘disgrace’ as the footballer finally addressed his controversial £10million World Cup deal with Qatar.
Last month Joe pulled a stunt in which he threatened to destroy £10,000 of his own money if the sports star didn’t step out of his contract with tournament hosts Qatar, where homosexuality is still illegal.
The former footballer, 47, did not initially respond to Joe’s requests for comment and the comedian then pretended to crush the money.
But during Thursday night’s episode of Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, the 34-year-old comedian revealed he had received an explanation from David’s camp.
Not impressed: Comedian Joe Lycett called David Beckham a ‘disgrace’ when the footballer finally addressed his controversial £10million World Cup deal with Qatar
While Joe said he was not legally allowed to express his opinion on the statement himself, he expressed his feelings about David’s Qatar deal, while the editor of British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude branded the statement “tone deaf”.
David’s team noted that the athlete “sees it as positive that the debate on important issues has been stimulated by the World Cup in Qatar”.
The statement read: “Having been involved in a number of World Cups and other major international tournaments both as a player and as an ambassador, David has always believed in the power of sport to be a force for good in the world.
“Football, the world’s most popular sport, has a real ability to bring people together and make real contributions to communities.
Speaking of which, David Beckham finally issued a statement to Joe after the comedian pretended to “smash £10,000” over the footballer’s £10m World Cup deal with Qatar.
“We understand that there are different and strongly held views on engagement in the Middle East, but welcome that the debate on the key issues was directly stimulated by the first World Cup in the region.
“We hope that these conversations will lead to greater understanding and empathy for all people and that progress will be made.”
Earlier in the show, Joe read a tweet from a Twitter account that called him a “k**b” and said his money-wrecking stunt “got nowhere” – with the latter Joe agreeing.
The star looked dejected as he told the audience: “I haven’t achieved anything, Beckham still hasn’t addressed the issues faced by LGBTQ people in Qatar.”
He continued, “People say to me, ‘why is it so important to you?’ and the reason it’s important is because someone like me wouldn’t be able to be someone like me if he was in Qatar would live.
Joe continued to reach out to LGBTQ allies, noting that someone who wants to be an ally should always be someone to count on, not just when it suits them.
Explanation: David’s statement states that the athlete “sees it as positive that the debate on important issues has been stimulated by the World Cup in Qatar” (pictured on a mural near the Khalifa International Stadium).
He said: “I want to talk about allies, especially businesses and celebrities who like to think they are allies of our community, who like to make a rainbow when it doesn’t cost them anything, but have looked the other way when it comes to it.” the World Cup went.
“What I’m saying is we need allies, but allies that we can count on not running away when things look difficult or when the first yellow card threatens.
“We need everyone to be our ally, and we need them to remember that it’s an ally for life, not just for Christmas specials.”
And while he couldn’t respond directly to David’s comment, earlier in the show Joe lashed out at David’s role in Qatar, saying, “I’m furious at his blatant hypocrisy and failure to be an ally of the LGBTQ community.”
Ultimatum: Last month Joe pulled off a stunt in which he threatened to destroy £10,000 of his own money if David Beckham didn’t pull out of his contract with World Cup hosts Qatar
The comedian adds: “We deserve better from our national hero.”
He also called the former England captain a “disgrace” and said it was “disappointing because he hasn’t changed his mind”.
Attitude editor Cliff Joannou’s verdict then came in, saying: “David’s testimony is offensively benign, extremely deaf and beyond disappointing.
“When a FIFA World Cup ambassador describes homosexuality as ‘a disease of the mind’, we are far from the unity that Beckham’s ill-informed spokesman desires.
In their statement, they also highlight how football has a ‘real ability to bring people together and make a real contribution to communities’ – perhaps they could start donating Beckham’s alleged £150m deal to the downtrodden communities who you want to help?
“This statement by Beckham’s spokesman, which is not attributed to the former England captain himself, fails to address a lived reality very different for millions of downtrodden people.”
Answer: After repeated attempts by Joe to comment, David’s team finally addressed the issue when they noted that the athlete “sees it as a positive that the debate on important issues has been stimulated by the World Cup in the country”.
It comes after Joe recently explained how he pulled off his latest stunt by pretending to shred £10,000 over David’s £10m World Cup deal with Qatar.
Speaking about Jeremy Vine on 5, the comedian said the money he put in the machine was real, but it was collected in a bucket.
There were then two canisters containing the fake money that came out “shredded” on the other side.
Poignant: “People say to me, ‘why is this so important to you?’ and the reason it matters is because someone like me, if they lived in Qatar, wouldn’t be able to, someone like me to be.
He said: “There was a lot behind the scenes, a lot of stress really. This whole weekend I was so wracked with fear and anxiety because it felt really wrong, it felt really scary to do what I was doing.
Joe added, “I knew I had to do something like this to generate press and intrigue.
“Which is really depressing. They would hope that human rights violations would create an intrigue of their own.’
Explanation: Joe recently explained how he pretended to shred £10,000 over David Beckham’s £10m World Cup deal with Qatar
Explaining how the machine worked, he said: “Actually, it wouldn’t have turned out that way if you put real money into the machine.
“It’s essentially a bit of theatrics, but I wanted it to be as dark and shocking as possible. I think we succeeded.”
Joe said the real money was put into the shredder to make the stunt look more realistic, rather than fake money, which has different dimensions.
The comedian said: “We knew that when we used these [fake money], people would immediately say “Oh, that’s a fake”. We needed real money to go to the shredder and look legit.’
When asked what happened to the £10,000, he said it was returned to the bank as he had already donated the money to charity.
Joe also spoke to global journalists Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel on their podcast The News Agents earlier this month about hearing from Beckham’s people after the stunt.
He explained: “I haven’t heard from Beckham directly, we’ve had some movement with his people.”
Emily added with a laugh, “Wait, is that like an injunction or a lawsuit or a friendly hello?”
Joe said: “I’d love to be sued by him, what a twist that would be. Basically we had contact with them. But legally I’m not sure what I’m allowed to say at the moment.
“I’m not happy with where we are, let’s put it that way.”
Emily continued: “So they offer positive movements money? Or donations?’ and Joe replied, “No. They don’t really offer anything. You just talk to us a little bit.
“I think they’re just trying to really make it go away. Which it will eventually and it won’t affect him in the long run.
Jon Sopel added, “I honestly can’t think of anything that’s been done in PR or advertising for Ten Grand that has garnered that much attention.
Joe is openly pansexual, meaning he is attracted to all genders, and he has spoken out about being queer and speaking out for LGBTQ+ rights on many occasions.
The World Cup is taking place in Qatar – where homosexuality is still illegal and anyone engaging in same-sex sexual activity can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
Contact: On November 16, Mr. Lycett shared an email sent to Beckham’s PR saying it was only four days and stressed that he did not want to be forced to destroy the money