Joe Lycett joins list of stars who’ve backed out of British LGBT Awards over fossil fuel links

Joe Lycett has withdrawn from the British LGBT Awards after eco-activists pledged a protest over the event because it is being sponsored by Shell and BP. The comedian, 34, from Birmingham, is the latest star to back out of attending the event due to controversial sponsorship deals.

According to The Guardian, The British LBGT Awards ceremony aims to honour queer and LGBT celebrities, role models and organisations. However, nominees of the categories began pulling out after they were warned by campaigners that it had become an exercise in corporate “pinkwashing” for gas and oil companies.

Prior to Joe’s withdrawal from the ceremony, others publicly announced that they were backing out of the event, including drag queen Cheddar Gorgeous, trans campaigner Fox Fisher, and the podcaster Josh Rivers.

Cheddar Gorgeous, who rose to fame after appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race, took to Instagram, saying : “With sadness, but necessary resolve I am unable to accept my nomination for @britishlgbtawards ‘TV moment of the year’ for my discussion of the Pink Triangle on @dragraceukbbc.”

They went on to explain their decision, writing: “The event unfortunately has a number of sponsors with questionable track records on climate change, racism and inequality, including BP and Shell. These two in particular have consistently failed to back up rhetoric of low carbon transition with actions to that effect.

“Given the nomination was offered for an act of creative advocacy, it wouldn’t feel right to be part of the event knowing the damage these companies are still doing to the environment and communities most affected by climate change.”

Joe was nominated for an award at the ceremony, after he protested David Beckham’s ambassador role at the World Cup in Qatar- a country which has a track record of anti-LGBT+ laws and human rights abuse. After issuing an ultimatum which urged Beckham to pull out of the multi-million dollar deal, Joe made headlines when he posted a video of himself shredding £10,000 of his own money.

The stunt sparked backlash online before  Joe revealed  that he had actually donated the money to various LGBTQ+ charities. The comedian revealed that he had actually shredded David Beckham’s 2003 cover for LQBTQ+ magazine, Attitude, instead.