Paul Anka Won’t Budge in Battle With Charity Over Mar-a-Lago Cancellation
31st August 2017
Paul Anka will not be a victim of the political correctness that prompted more than a dozen charities to cancel or move fundraisers from Mar-a-Lago following President Trump’s remarks about the violence in Charlottesville, Va.
Anka, 76, a pop star since he was a teenager, was booked to perform Dec. 2 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., at the LIFE (Leaders in Furthering Education) Lady in Red Gala, and had received a deposit of $75,000.
But when Trump was criticized for blaming “both sides” for the violence in Charlottesville, LIFE — run by Lois Pope, the widow of National Enquirer founder Generoso Pope — moved the event to the nearby Breakers with a new date, Jan. 5.
Anka, who has an 11-year-old son and nine grandchildren, is going on a European vacation in January. When LIFE organizers asked if the deposit could go toward a performance next year, his agent allegedly said, “This is not negotiable. You will not get a penny back.”
That’s the nature of a deposit. If you change things, you forfeit the deposit. Welcome to the real world.