Charlize had no permission for Mandela auction

Actress auctioned off a meeting with the anti-apartheid icon at a recent charity event; his office says she did not have his consent

Actress auctioned off a meeting with the anti-apartheid icon at a recent charity event; his office says she did not have his consent

Hollywood actress Charlize Theron did not have the consent of South Africa's Nelson Mandela to auction off a meeting with him, his office has said.

She reportedly sold a trip to the 2010 World Cup, a meeting with the anti-apartheid icon, and a kiss from her for $140,000 (Rs 66 lakh) at a charity event.

But the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it has yet to receive a request from the South African-born actress.
A meeting with Mandela required "a rigorous process", the foundation said.

You should have asked me: Nelson Mandela with Charlize Theron, when she went to meet him, after winning the Academy Award in 2004 for her performance in Monster.

"Not even the charity foundations Mandela himself established are allowed to auction off time with him," the NMF's chief executive Achmat Dangor said in a statement.

Kiss for a cause

The 34-year-old Oscar-winning star took part in the live auction during a fundraiser for charity in San Francisco on October 22.

She was initially selling a trip to South Africa, which included World Cup tickets as well as a safari and a meet-and-greet with the 91-year-old former South African president.

Theron upped the stakes when bidding stopped at $37,000 (Rs 17.5 lakh) by adding the offer of a seven-second kiss to the highest bidder.

This raised the bids to $130,000 then a woman offered $140,000 to make it a 20-second kiss from the actress. Theron agreed, sealing the bid by kissing her in front of the audience.