On Tuesday, the star of LOGO’s upcoming “Finding Prince Charming” — essentially a gay version of “The Bachelor” — finally discussed his escorting history with Huffington Post‘s Noah Michelson.
“The past is the past,” he said briskly. “I was young and it helped through college.”
Now, The Wrap is reporting that network execs were “blindsided by the disclosure” and are “scrambling to contain the PR nightmare.”
A person close to the situation told The Wrap the network followed ‘standard protocol’ when vetting Sepulveda and that ‘nothing came up during the background check.”‘The network didn’t find out well into production,” he added.
An op-ed piece by E. Alex Jung published yesterday by Vulture argues that the show shouldn’t sweep his hustling days under the rug, but should incorporate them into the narrative of the show.
They wanted a bachelor who looked like a porn star to activate the trashy, libidinal desires of gay men, but they didn’t want him to talk about it once they realize he might actually have been one. It’s the Madonna/whore complex, but for gay men. Indeed, what may make Finding Prince Charming interesting isn’t Sepúlveda himself, but rather the era the show represents: when marriage is not just a possibility for queer people, but an obligation.”
Watch the trailer below:
