Pitbull is sued by Florida politician who demands to know how much he was paid to promote the state with new Sexy Beaches video
- Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran is suing Pitbull's production company
- Last year the rapper signed a contract with the state's tourism marketing arm
- In a four-minute video, the Miami-artist promotes the state's beaches and hotels
- Visit Florida is funded by taxpayers and has a budget of more than $70m
Pitbull is being sued by a Florida politician who is demanding to know how much the rapper was paid to promote state tourism with his Sexy Beaches music video.
Funded by state taxpayer's dollars, Pitbull signed a secretive contract with Florida's tourism marketing team that resulted in a 'sexy' four-minute video for his 2014 song.
Now Richard Corcoran, the state's House Speaker, is suing the Miami musician's production company, PDR Productions, asking a Tallahassee judge to make the contract public.
Pitbull (left) is being sued by Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran (right) who is demanding to know how much the rapper was paid to promote state tourism with his Sexy Beaches music video
The deal's terms did not reveal what Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, was required to do or how much he was paid.
The entertainer's lawyers insist that the details are trade secrets and are exempted from Florida's public records law.
Previously, when media outlets called for transparency, Visit Florida responded by releasing an 11-page contract, nearly all of it blacked out.
What is known about the arrangement is that the rapper promoted Florida in a music video that includes scenes from nearly two dozen beaches stretching from the Florida Panhandle to Key West.
Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, signed a secretive contract with Florida's tourism marketing arm. The details of how much he was paid or what he was required to do were undisclosed
The music video includes scenes from nearly two dozen beaches stretching from the Florida Panhandle to Key West
It also features images of women frolicking in surf and sand along with pictures of such iconic Florida hotels as Miami Beach's Fontainebleau. It ends with an image of #LOVEFL written in the sand.
The Republican lawmaker from the Land O'Lakes area made the move after lawyers for Pitbull told legislative employees last week that they could view the contract but that none of the terms could be 'disclosed to the media or elsewhere.'
In a testy statement, Corcoran said lawmakers have a right to review how state tax dollars are spent.
Visit Florida receives more than $70 million a year to promote the state to tourists and its funding has risen significantly under Governor Rick Scott's tenure.
Mr Corcoran said: 'This suit is not about Pitbull or his compensation.
'This is about the audacity of government entities who are under the false impression that they are above the law or believe somehow that taxpayer money is a never ending river of riches they get to play with.'
An attorney representing the music star declined to comment on Corcoran's lawsuit.
It also features images of women frolicking in surf and sand along with pictures of such iconic Florida hotels as Miami Beach's Fontainebleau
The video ends with an image of #LOVEFL written in the sand
An attorney for Visit Florida wrote The Orlando Sentinel in 2015 and said that tourism marketing organization had agreed to keep the contract confidential because 'other parties could gain an advantage over Visit Florida' if they found out compensation stipulated by the contract.
The contract expired this past summer and was not renewed by Visit Florida.
Last week, Corcoran questioned the need to spend money on tourism marketing, saying that tourists have been flocking to Florida even before the state began spending millions on advertising.
His lawsuit states that the House is now 'investigating Visit Florida's use of public funds.'
Florida, with miles of beaches and theme parks such as Disney World and Universal, relies on tourism as its leading industry. Last year about 106 million people visited Florida, with the vast majority of tourists arriving from other states. The state also draws many visitors from countries beyond.
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