by Julie Miller, Vanity Fair
Attention, anyone who has $20,000 earmarked for "lunch with a celebrity": George Clooney is auctioning off a Los Angeles-area lunch date to benefit GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, an organization that works to make schools safe for LGBT youth. The "intimate" date comes with a number of stipulations, however, including that the get-together may take up to a year to schedule, it may be procured only by someone over 18, and Clooney and the winning bidder must be accompanied by a (probably very nice) third wheel, entertainment journalist and "official red carpet greeter at the Oscars" Dave Karger.
As far as A-list auctioned meals go, the date's estimated price--$20,000--appears to be market value. A recent dinner with Charlize Theron cost someone a reported $20,000, and the shame of being called "creepy" when the Oscar winner recounted the evening on national television. In 2001, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and Hong Kong businessman David Tang paid a reported $41,000 for a three-way date with Scarlett Johansson benefitting the U.K. charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
Amazingly, according to Charity Buzz, the Web site where the Clooney date is being auctioned off, $20,000 would also get bidders four lunches with Jeremy Piven, 20 personalized voicemail recordings from Ben Affleck, and 40 pairs of V.I.P. tickets to the Ricky Lake Show.
More from Vanity Fair: