Woman Kisses Charlize For US$140,000

No, it’s not that Charlize Theron has fallen on hard times. She sold the kiss for a greater good – charity of course.

Thirty four-year-old Charlize took part in a live auction during a gala for the charity OneXOne in San Francisco on 22 Oct. And while she was initially selling a 2010 trip to South Africa that included World Cup tickets, a safari and a meet-and-greet with Nelson Mandela, she raised the stakes when bidding stalled at US$37,000, far below the $280,000 Entourage actor Jeremy Piven had just raised. "For f*** sake! You can do better," she told the audience. "There is no way I am leaving here with Jeremy Piven getting a higher bid. I've got t**** for God's sake."

To sweeten the pot, she offered up a seven-second kiss for US$130,000 to a male bidder. "Swine flu is going around. This is high risk kissing!" she told him. After one man bid US$135,000, a woman upped the stakes to US$140,000 – getting up on stage for a 20-second smooch as the audience counted down. Charlize, who is in a long-term relationship with actor Stuart Townsend, 36 joked, "My boyfriend is not here tonight," drawing laughter from the crowd.

Whether sold to a man or a woman, cheers to Charlize for her effort.