Caitlyn Jenner accepted thousands of pounds to promote a fake charity
Caitlyn Jenner accepted thousands of pounds to promote CUPPA, a fake charity imagined up by Dispatches. (Channel 4)
Caitlyn Jenner accepted thousands of pounds to promote a fake charity with an Instagram post after being set up by Channel 4 Dispatches.
The reality star was one of a number of celebrities targeted by Dispatches‘ latest investigation: “Celebs For Sale: The Great Charity Scandal”.
The Channel 4 programme invented a fake charity called Cleaning Up Plastic Pollution in Africa (CUPPA) and contacted celebrity booking agents to see if any of their roster would be interested in working with them.
One of the agencies was MN2s, which offered CUPPA Jenner’s support in return for substantial payment.
Caitlyn Jenner’s agent said charity support could cost up to £50,000.
In an email sent to Dispatches on September 16, 2019, MN2S said that it would charge between £7,800 and £11,700 ($10-15,000) for one social media post to Jenner’s account and between £35,900 and £38,800 ($40-45,000) for her to appear at a charity ball.
MN2S said the fees would need to be paid upfront, and that the charity would need to provide business class travel and a five-star hotel for Jenner.
Shortly after Dispatches met with MN2S in its London office, Jenner entered the I’m A Celebrity jungle.
Subsequent discussions saw Jenner’s fees increase, and eventually the documentary makers paid MN2S over £19,500 for a photoshoot and Instagram post.
Dispatches team flew to Malibu to meet Caitlyn Jenner.
Antony Barnett, the film’s presenter, was flown out to Jenner’s Malibu home for the shoot.
She also agreed to film a short video shot an a phone, saying: “I think we have to be good stewards of this planet. And the plastic issue is huge… We have to be just responsible as citizens on this issue.”
The following day, Jenner shared a post of herself wearing a CUPPA shirt and holding a CUPPA mug on her Instagram, without clarifying that it was a paid-for posting.
Jenner’s lawyer said: “It is well known to the public that sometimes celebrities are paid fees for doing promotional work for charities. The benefit is mutual.
“Apart from this instance, she has never been paid for her charitable work, and always intended to donate the money raised via the photoshoot and Instagram post to charities she supports.
“She feels that she has been targeted in the programme because of her status as a well-known TV personality and that she has been exploited to increase viewing figures.”
A representative for MN2S said: “Many of the celebrities that MN2S work with undertake charity work for free.
“In addition, they are regularly approached to undertake one-off fundraising work – as was the case with your fake charity CUPPA.
“In those instances, we may agree a fee that covers not just the individual but the work of the team that make it possible. This is widely known within the charity sector.
“Charities book celebrities because it raises their profile and helps them often raise far more money than the amount paid to the celebrity. The fee is often heavily discounted from the commercial rate, as was the case with the celebrities we work with and CUPPA.”
