Organizers pull plug on gala after accusations flare
SEATTLE -- A controversial charity event has been canceled after some accused the organizers of running a scam.
The event was advertised as a black-tie gala featuring A-list movie stars, but it collapsed under the weight of broken promises.
All week, the Problem Solvers pressed the event's organizers for answers. They denied the allegations, then suddenly pulled the plug and refused to answer a single question.
Ski Johnson, a Grammy-nominated musician and a self-named "bad boy of jazz," was organizing the gala scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Seattle on Saturday.
Johnson claimed he simply wanted to raise money for cancer research. But he suddenly changed his tune as suspicions mounted about the charity dinner.
"It's in the best interest of everyone involved to cancel the black-tie gala," he said.
The gala promised big names like Michael Douglas, James Earl Jones and even KOMO's own Kathi Goertzen. Local promoters got on board to help benefit the American Cancer society.
"Everything they were telling us was like, 'Hey, this is legitimate. These people are coming. Everything's legit,"' said promoter Andy Karuza.
But Johnson's foundation, the Jazz For Life Foundation, pulled the plug in the eleventh hour and blamed others for the troubles.
"We are saddened that the blatant self-promotion and irresponsible behavior of the local promoters and PR agencies," said Johnson.
He tried to leave without taking questions, but that doesn't fly with the Problem Solvers.
Karuza says he received a text from Johnson's foundation when Goertzen reportedly confirmed for the event. The text read: "Andy, good news. Kathi Goertzen is on board 100 percent."
That text was sent on Feb. 8. But on that day, Goerzen was in the hospital that day, recovering from brain surgery. Goertzen didn't know about the benefit, let alone confirm.
And representatives of both actors told KOMO News say they know nothing about the gala, and will not attend.
When asked about these empty promises, Johnson on Friday said, "Local volunteers overstated the guest list."
But an e-mail sent by Johnson's foundation to local promoters clearly names of the three promised special guests.
No one had an explanation.
"Everybody in the Seattle community was donating their time for this. There was no personal gain or anything in this," Karuza.
Johnson did promise refunds.
To get them, everyone who bought a ticket has to contact PayPal and dispute payment, and hope they get their money back.
The event was advertised as a black-tie gala featuring A-list movie stars, but it collapsed under the weight of broken promises.
All week, the Problem Solvers pressed the event's organizers for answers. They denied the allegations, then suddenly pulled the plug and refused to answer a single question.
Ski Johnson, a Grammy-nominated musician and a self-named "bad boy of jazz," was organizing the gala scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Seattle on Saturday.
Johnson claimed he simply wanted to raise money for cancer research. But he suddenly changed his tune as suspicions mounted about the charity dinner.
"It's in the best interest of everyone involved to cancel the black-tie gala," he said.
The gala promised big names like Michael Douglas, James Earl Jones and even KOMO's own Kathi Goertzen. Local promoters got on board to help benefit the American Cancer society.
"Everything they were telling us was like, 'Hey, this is legitimate. These people are coming. Everything's legit,"' said promoter Andy Karuza.
But Johnson's foundation, the Jazz For Life Foundation, pulled the plug in the eleventh hour and blamed others for the troubles.
"We are saddened that the blatant self-promotion and irresponsible behavior of the local promoters and PR agencies," said Johnson.
He tried to leave without taking questions, but that doesn't fly with the Problem Solvers.
Karuza says he received a text from Johnson's foundation when Goertzen reportedly confirmed for the event. The text read: "Andy, good news. Kathi Goertzen is on board 100 percent."
That text was sent on Feb. 8. But on that day, Goerzen was in the hospital that day, recovering from brain surgery. Goertzen didn't know about the benefit, let alone confirm.
And representatives of both actors told KOMO News say they know nothing about the gala, and will not attend.
When asked about these empty promises, Johnson on Friday said, "Local volunteers overstated the guest list."
But an e-mail sent by Johnson's foundation to local promoters clearly names of the three promised special guests.
No one had an explanation.
"Everybody in the Seattle community was donating their time for this. There was no personal gain or anything in this," Karuza.
Johnson did promise refunds.
To get them, everyone who bought a ticket has to contact PayPal and dispute payment, and hope they get their money back.
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