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.
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"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.
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.
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