California’s first couple were paid for tourism promotions
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who often speaks of his love for California, has promoted the state with his wife Maria Shriver in television commercials over the last five years. And as they invited viewers to visit, California’s first couple got paid.
Schwarzenegger and Shriver have received more than $235,000 since 2005 for appearing in commercials for the California Travel and Tourism Commission. The governor’s aides said Schwarzenegger and his wife did not know about the income until The Times inquired about it this week, and they mailed the tourism commission a check to repay it on Thursday.
The ads feature California’s wine country, parks and ski resorts and show Schwarzenegger and Shriver at a seaside dining table.
Aaron McLear, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman, said the governor and Shriver told the tourism commission they wanted to film the commercials for free, but they did not know that under a union contract for the Screen Actors Guild they were required to be paid a minimum fee.
They received money for their initial appearances and residual payments whenever the commercials were broadcast later.
McLear said that because the couple put their finances into blind trusts after Schwarzenegger was elected, they are not told what payments they are receiving and were “completely unaware” they were making money by promoting tourism.
“As soon as they became aware, they immediately returned the money,” he said.
Shriver’s bookkeepers reported the income she earned last year from commercials on a required state financial disclosure statement filed Monday. Schwarzenegger has not reported it for the last two years because of an accounting error and will amend his disclosures, McLear said.
The tourism commission, a public-private entity, has a $50-million annual budget that mostly comes from assessments on hotels, theme parks and other industry businesses. All “celebrity talent” who appear in ads waive their normal fees but must receive union minimums, said Caroline Beteta, the commission’s president.
“We don’t have an option to not pay talent,” she said.
