UKC

If Joe went into politics, I'm betting he would be a force to be reckoned with. And if I was David Beckham or any football pundit right now, I'd hang my head in shame if I took blood money from Qatar just now.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/joe-lycett-gay-icon-david-beckham-qatar-world-cup...

I do like JL a lot but if he really does shred the cash, it may well backfire. Better to donate to foodbanks or something. Shredding ten grand on a livestream when people are struggling will come across a bit c#ntish. 

Good to raise awareness of the qatar thing though. I’m a huge footy fan and have been all my life but I’m boycotting the world cup for obvious reasons. 

I hate football, so it won't be a great shame if I don't watch.

But for the rest of the world, shame on you.

12 years of slave labour and deaths to build shrines to footballing cash-cow money makers and only now people are questioning what has happened?

I'm partial to a bit of footie, but I'm not going to be shamed for my like of it. Qatar's pretty much like the rest of the world, it's all about the money, we all know what's going on there. Bollocks to this world cup. Qatar and football,  it's a joke. Hopefully they'll get totally thrashed with a double figure score in the opening match 😂😂😂

And for bonus self righteous points, I haven't  consumed any Coca-Cola or McDonald's products for decades.

I wish my morals were as strong as yours! 🤪

I really don't understand why anybody likes football.

Its a business program. If you turn over to another channel you may find some sport on.

Not understanding why someone likes football is understandable. Not appreciating that others may have perfectly reasonable likes and dislikes that differ greatly from your own is quite another.

Lots of people have questioned the choice of Qatar and their working conditions related to the stadia builds over the past decade, which is more than can be said for the gas industry on which we suckle. Football is briefly shining a light on Qatar but it'll move on in a few weeks and mostly what we'll see is the glitter.

jk

The headline is somewhat misleading in this regard. Shredding it certainly would be a mistake, but in the article, Lycett is quoted"

"If you end your relationship with Qatar, I'll donate this £10,000 of my own money - that's a grand for every million you're reportedly getting - to charities that support queer people in football."

I tend to agree that donating to foodbanks would be better, but then, I've never had to deal with the prejudices faced by gay people, and given the context, Lycett's choice is not inappropriate. 

He also continued with:
“However, if you do not I will throw the money into a shredder at midday next Sunday, just before the opening ceremony of the World Cup and stream it right here. Not just the money, but also your status as a gay icon will be shredded.”
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/nov/13/joe-lycett-to-shred-10000-i...

Ah, fair enough, I didn't read that. If he does shred it, he is an idiot, 

TBH, I think £10k is pretty cheap for the amount of publicity for international LGBTQ abuses that this livestreaming (and it's attendant public shaming of a prominent UK figure involved in Qatar's sportwashing) will generate.

It's a high risk protest. In fact I'm not sure how Lycett makes it out of this without backing down or looking like a right prick shredding money earmarked for a good cause in a time of hardship. Unless of course it's alongside a profusely thankful Beckham, the scales shed from his eyes. I don't fancy those odds.

jk

Or he shreds paper, gets the publicity, gets Beckham to think about his gig, and then gives the money to charity?

The shredded money?

10k is neither here nor there in context, if Lycett shreds it then Beckham and or his fans will replace it many times over but still, it's not a good look given where we are to be making a show of shredding money earmarked for a good cause when so many are struggling. It's the sort of thing, like queue jumping, that could kill a career in a moment.

We'll see soon enough how this plays out, my bet is on Beckham blanking him, Lycett shredding the money, the public really not getting it gifting the opportunity for the rightwing press to metaphorically kick the shit out of Lycett.

jk

'Of course I was never going to shred the cash, but it's interesting to note that Beckham would happily have let me do so rather than address the issue. The cash will go to charity.'

Shred Monopoly money or similar fake money rather than the KLF burning £1m.

I'm not sure that would go down much better, it looks like a lack of integrity/sincerity even if objectively it makes sense. You're right, it's probably his least worst option assuming the protest fails to shift Beckham.

jk

I think when the point being made is in part at least about personal integrity then not doing what he said he would puts him on pretty shaky ground. It's got people talking but I think it's very high risk.

jk

Not a big footie fan but I flipping love watching athletics on the telly. The World Champs in Qatar 2019 were disappointing. Empty stadiums, no atmosphere. They were bussing 'fans' in with free tickets to cover for the empty seats (even after a lot of the seating was covered over). Treating the athletes like performing monkeys - the marathon started at midnight on a dull looped course. Air conditioning an outdoor stadium is an environmental disgrace, you might as well set fire to bundles of cash far bigger than Joe Lycett's. I'm hoping the business supertanker organising bodies have become start to recognise that events like this have to have more meaning than the just the host with the deepest wallets..

The first part of you post was very true.

The second part supposition 

Poor David is short of a bob or two…erm hang on?

I know it's not the intention here, nor would it ever be perceived in a positive light, but destroying cash actually reduces the rate of inflation.

in a similar way that my gravitational mass interacts and effects the gravitational mass of the earth?

A relationship so imperceptible as to be zero effect.

<smug mode>

https://twitter.com/joelycett/status/1594657948525289473

</smug mode>

Executed perfectly, had us all over in the end and had everyone talking about the stunt and why.

Bravo Joe

Update. He didn't shred the cash

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63703831

On Monday, Lycett confirmed he had in fact donated the money to charity.

He said destroying the cash would have been "irresponsible".