Logo’s ‘Gay Bachelor’ Reality Show Scrambles Over Reveal of Star’s Sex Worker Past
Logo TV’s first-ever gay dating competition, “Finding Prince Charming,” has been rocked by the revelation that the show’s star, 33-year old interior designer Robert Sepulveda, once worked as a male escort.
The network was blindsided by the disclosure, TheWrap has learned, and is scrambling to contain the PR nightmare as gay activists join the growing chorus of critics for a show that’s been dubbed the gay version of “The Bachelor” and is set to premiere September 8.
A person close to the situation told TheWrap the network followed “standard protocol” when vetting Sepulveda and that “nothing came up during the background check.”
“To call him ‘Prince Charming’ is a little reckless,” AIDS activist Tyler Curry told TheWrap, while cautioning against “shaming” people who become sex workers.
Gay news site Queerty noted its commenters were going “ballistic” about Seplveda’s casting, with some calling him “a disgrace to the community.”
In its first public comments about the controversy, a Logo spokesperson told TheWrap: ‘Finding Prince Charming’ is a reality series about 13 people looking for Mr. Right.
Rumors of Sepulveda’s past began to circulate last week after several gay news sites uncovered his escorting profile on the now defunct website RentBoy.com.
The articles came complete with eye-popping evidence, including NSFW pictures and videos from his time as a sex worker.
On Tuesday, several gay blogs unearthed a scathing review written by one of Sepulveda’s alleged clients claiming Sepulveda wouldn’t meet with him because he was African-American.
The discovery prompted celebrity blogger Perez Hilton to ask: ‘The Gay Bachelor’ Wasn’t Just A RentBoy In The Past…
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Critics argue there is a difference between shaming sex work and pretending it’s just another run-of-the-mill job, especially in a community with a disproportionate number of at-risk youth who are forced to turn to hustling in order to survive.
Read original story Logo’s ‘Gay Bachelor’ Reality Show Scrambles Over Reveal of Star’s Sex Worker Past At TheWrap
