How Much Did the Mexican Government Pay Kevin Spacey for a Selfie with President Pena Nieto? Dolia Estevez - Forbes
go to original May 16, 2014

American actor Kevin Spacey was not in the Mexican resort city of Cancún by mere coincidence when President Enrique Peña Nieto inaugurated a major tourist fair on May 6, as some Mexican media reported. In fact, Spacey was paid by the Mexican government to give a speech at the Tianguis Tourism Fair, meet with Peña Nieto for a chit-chat and a couple of selfies that he later tweeted to his 3.38 million followers.

How much was Spacey paid by Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism is a matter of controversy. Columnist Salvador García Soto wrote on 24 Horas, a Mexican website, that the 54-year old actor had been paid $8 million by Mexico’s Tourism Board, which is part of the Ministry of Tourism. But Rodolfo López Negrete Coppel, the head of the Tourism Board, told me via email that the $8 million figure is “wrong and without source.”

López Negrete Coppel admitted that Spacey was paid, but declined to reveal how much. Mexican government officials tend to be secretive about these type of expenses, which are perceived by many in Mexico as superfluous. López Negrete Coppel said that the Tourism Board’s budget for the event was around $3.5 million dollars, that some the of the expenses were “self financed” through advertising and sale of tickets and that “Kevin Spacey’s participation was immersed” in that context.

Spacey did not respond to my question, posted to his Twitter and Facebook accounts, asking him to clarify the $8 million payment controversy.

Read the rest at Forbes

Photo: dnpolitico.com

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