Paying Pitbull $1 million to be Florida’s “Celebrity Tourism Ambassador” might cost the head of Florida’s tourism bureau his job—but not for the reason you might think.
The state tourism marketing department recently paid Pitbull $1 million for that position (where the responsibilities include concerts, a video for a hotel marketing single called “Sexy Beaches” and other minor things). Governor Rick Scott is none too pleased, however, and he just asked Will Seccombe, the head of Visit Florida, to resign over the payout.
Now this hasn’t happened because Scott isn’t a fan of Mr. Worldwide (who resides in Miami), and Scott wants you all to know that. He writes “I appreciate Pitbull and his devotion to our great state. His willingness to help promote tourism in Florida is a great example for other entertainers to follow.”
Rather, the request stems from Visit Florida’s refusal to disclose how much they paid Pitbull for his swanky new position, which was only released to the world because Pitbull himself posted the contract on the internet. Florida House speaker Richard Corcoran launched a lawsuit a few days ago into the board’s claim of “trade secrets” in the dealings.
“The notion that Visit Florida spending would not be transparent to the taxpayers is just ridiculous,” Scott said in a letter asking Seccombe to resign.
Somehow this is one of the most Florida stories I’ve ever written for this great website, and I’ve written many stories about the exploits of Florida Man, the world’s greatest superhero. The alternate headline for this one is “Florida Man wants to fire Other Florida Man over lack of Pitbull transparency.”
