Newt Gingrich’s 527 group sent a letter to porn exec Allison Vivas Wednesday telling her she’d won their “Entrepreneur of the Year” award and inviting her to an “intimate event” with Gingrich.
“I’m honored, and more than a little surprised, to receive this prestigious award,” Vivas said today in a cheeky press release. “Rest assured, I’ll take the opportunity to inform Mr. Gingrich of some of the major challenges facing the adult entertainment industry in the current market .., from obscenity prosecutions to content piracy, I’ll make sure he walks away from that dinner educated about the realities of the online porn market.”
The statement made the rounds, and now Media Matters reports that the group’s spokesman sent a short statement clearing things up: “We have notified Allison Vivas that the notice she received was sent by mistake. We regret the error.”
The spokesman, Dan Kotman, did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment.
Vivas, president of adult entertainment studio Pink Visual, posted the letter on her web site.
“You’ll dine privately with Newt,” it reads. A handwritten addendum reads, “Newt is looking forward to finally meeting you face to face — and get your thoughts on cap and trade and Obama’s tax policy.”
The award itself includes a signed replica of Gingrich’s gavel he used as Speaker of the House. (See a picture of the award, which Vivas says the group sent to her.)
Vivas said in her release that the gavel would “make for a pretty cool prop for a ‘Couples Seduce Teens’ episode.”
