John Harrington
Nov 21, 2022

PR gold or shocking waste? Joe Lycett money-shredding stunt divides

Media and comms figures have given a mixed reaction to comedian Joe Lycett apparently destroying £10,000 in cash in a protest against David Beckham’s involvement in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

PR gold or shocking waste? Joe Lycett money-shredding stunt divides

Update: shortly after this article was published, Lycett posted a video saying he did not in fact shred the money, but had already donated it to LGBTQ+ charities. He called it "an empty threat to get people talking".


 

Joe Lycett last Sunday promised to shred £10,000 in bank notes if David Beckham failed to renounce his position as an ambassador for the controversial FIFA World Cup in Qatar on the grounds of its poor record on LGBTQ+ rights.

 

A video was posted over the weekend showing the comedian appearing to follow through on his promise:

 

The stunt has caused much debate, with some arguing that it’s immoral to destroy money that could be put to good use during the cost-of-living crisis.

 

 

 

Others take the opposite view, including several comms professionals who suggested £10,000 represented good value considering the amount of publicity the stunt has received.

 

 

 

 

Lycett has been known for publicity-grabbing activities in recent years.

He made national headlines earlier this year when claiming to be “very right-wing” and a big supporter of Liz Truss when appearing on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC.

Lycett has also taken aim at large corporations. Last year, he used a yellow bus emblazoned with a mural of a mock Shell advert captioned “We’re turning our carbon emissions green for Earth Day”, and parked it outside the company’s London headquarters. That stunt was to promote his Channel 4 show Joe Lycett vs The Oil Giant.

 

Source:
PRWeek

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