Carmen got only $495 from botched fundraiser

Posted in: New Zealand Daily News
By GayNZ.com Daily News staff - 18th October 2009

1.45PM: NZ transsexual icon Carmen was lured to Wellington as the centrepiece of a botched fundraising Birthday Party from which she eventually received only a handful of dollars, say her concerned friends.

Jevan Goulter and Carmen

'An Evening of Glamour' earlier this month was initially billed as a combined birthday party for the grande dame of NZ transsexuals and the event's organiser, Jevan Goulter. Goulter, 21, is understood to have enticed Carmen to Wellington with visions of a glamorous $20 a ticket fundraiser party at the Hope Bros. venue from which she was to have received the door proceeds.

Approximately 250 people are estimated to have attended the event, although some put the number higher, leading Carmen's friends, such as Tranny Granny Jacquie Grant, to believe Carmen should have received a much larger amount.

But it has now been confirmed Sydney-based Carmen received only $AU400 ($NZ495) with debate swirling over what expectations were raised and what expenses were extracted from the door take before reaching Carmen.

In a statement to GayNZ.com Goulter acknowledges the $AU400 figure, which he describes as "all profits" from the evening. He says expenses had to be paid for, such as "flights $650, Cake $200, Hotel room $350 for the whole stay, Minibar $186 - lollies and snacks, since Carmen doesn't drink," and "food on the night $800 - a lot higher than I'd been quoted."

Goulter says shopping for "little bits and pieces Carmen wanted" were also covered" plus "administration... and everything else that went into [the] evening."

However, Jacquie Grant claims in GayNZ.com's forum, where the controversy first publicly surfaced, that Goulter stated early in his promotion of the event that sponsorship and donations were in place for many products and services needed to mount the event and support Carmen's appearance.

Goulter says he regrets the low payout for the ailing and cash-strapped icon. "Unfortunately we did not raise what I had personally hoped to raise to give to our Kaumatua," he said yesterday, promising to produce a "transparent" financial report on the event which he says has left him personally $600 out of pocket.