Florida Pays Pitbull $1M To Promote Its Beaches

International superstar rapper Pitbull finally ended the feud between his production company and the Florida legislature over his promotional work for the state.

The Miami-based rapper — it’s why they call him Mr. 305, after the area code — released the contract details of his deal with state tourism agency Visit Florida, revealing the company paid Pitbull to the tune of $1 million for his promotion deal.

On Tuesday, Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran filed a suit against Pitbull’s production company, demanding to see the contract Visit Florida entered with the entertainer for his promotion of the state and his “Sexy Beaches” campaign in conjunction with Visit Florida.

Initially, Visit Florida and the production company — PDR Productions — refused to give up the details of the contract, stating “trade secrets.” However, the pressure mounted, and Pitbull uploaded the details of the contract to his Twitter Thursday via Dropbox.

The contract breaks down the $1 million Visit Florida contract, which included $100,000 for the use of Pitbull’s name and likeness and $250,000 “upon delivery of ‘Sexy Beaches’ music video.”

The video was one of Corcoran and the Florida legislature’s points of contention. Corcoran, along with Rep. Janet Cruz, told the Miami Herald the lyrics were “reprehensible” and the video was degrading to women. The legislature wanted to track how much money was spent on a product they felt didn’t represent the state.

Corcoran’s announcement of the suit Tuesday said it was not purely about Pitbull or even the actual compensation, but rather the “audacity” of government officials — through Visit Florida — to keep secrets.

Corcoran’s statement of victory asserted today, “The people’s House will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal to protect the taxpayer and ensure transparency is the rule and not the exception in state government.”

Also, why does Florida need to promote its beaches in the first place? Aside from Walt Disney World and Wizarding World of Harry Potter, its beaches are the only reason we keep Florida on the map.

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