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A former Mr. Gay World pageant winner has hired a lawyer to defend himself against the organization after it served him with a gag order, and not the fun kind.
Louw Breytenbach won the title in 2021, but refused to sign the final contract when he realized it stipulated the organization would be his exclusive agent for any bookings or acting gigs.
Breytenbach already had an agent for TV roles, and wanted to keep it that way.
“I don’t need them to manage whatever TV opportunities I get,” he said at the time. “My suggestion was that they manage me based on opportunities pertaining to the pageant and my role as Mr. Gay World.”
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He also balked at the clause which stipulated a €5,000 fine should he step down as Mr. Gay World during his time in the position.
“This penalty is unlawful,” he said. “What if they are in breach of contract, should I still pay the penalty? This does not make sense.”
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And then there was his uneasiness about the organization’s “inability to be audited when they refused to divulge how funds are used for the Mr Gay World Foundation.”
“I think it is my right to know what happens to [the] money that I raise for the organization in my capacity as Mr Gay World. Who is benefiting from all of [these] sponsorships?”
Well, now the Mr. Gay World Foundation would like him and his publicist, Gavin Prins, to retract these and other public statements they’ve made, reports The Citizen. The pair have hired advocate Quintin Steyn to defend them against the order.
“I can hereby confirm that the Mr Gay World Foundation has served my clients, former Mr Gay World Louw Breytenbach and his publicist, Gavin Prins with an interdict application to seek a court order to have both retract and apologize in public for alleged defamatory statements made in the media,” Steyn said in a statement, adding that he’s submitted a supplementary affidavit on behalf of his clients.
Breytenbach, for his part, said his “reason for resigning was never to tarnish the reputation of the organization, but rather because of value differences.”
After Breytenbach gave up his sash, the title was given to Bonginkosi Ndima…who also resigned shortly thereafter.
Mr Gay World 2022 will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from October 9-16, and we have to imagine contestants are reading those contracts a little more closely this year.
bachy
If you can’t trust a beauty pageant contract… what can you trust in this world?
scotty
i nominate garret ziegler.
inbama
Sounds like a rather greedy organization.
And very unusual for a “nonprofit” not to post its board of directors on its website.
jackscott
Sounds like he should have done his homework before entering for the crown. BTW… what does Mr. Gay World even do for a year?
Joshua333
sex
greekboy
Doesn’t Fat Elvis (DJT) have experience with beauty pageants? He knows how to grab ’em by the pu%%y. Maybe he can manage this guy from the slammer…I’m just jealous because he is incredibly good looking
Kangol2
The organization comes off as controlling and messy. The runner up, Bonginkosi “Bongs” Ndima, quit because he said they gave him zero support and basically gave him nothing but “empty promises and delayed responses,” which he attests Louw Breytenbach would back up. I mean, if you’re going to have pageant for a Mr. Gay World, I’d say be as transparent as possible and have all your ducks in a row, so that you don’t run into scenarios like this.
Jim
So Mr. Gay World is corrupt.
We know this not because of Louw Breytenbach legal filings but from Gay World’s response
Herman75
It’s a gay disgrace, the world has never seen. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Cam
The fact that they got so panicked over a simple request to determine what they were doing with the money he raised sends out some major red flags.
It sounds like those Veterans charities that when looked into were spending 90% on salaries, 5% on marketing, and 5% went to vets.
Mr. Stadnick
Why is there a Mr Gay World contest?
gregg2010
I mean, like, would you even want the title of Mr. Gay World? I guess it could be a good pick up line at a bar.
Doug
LOL
SDR94103
sash queens get mad.
Me2
Contracts are made to be negotiated. It doesn’t sound like the organization put him under pressure or duress to sign it. I’m sure all the winners have the same opportunity to seek council, read the contract, & decide if the terms are agreeable. He needs to stop trashing the organization, move on and let other contestants/winners do their own due diligence.