Love Island’s Kem Cetinay slammed by bakery for failing to promote free cake

IT’S ALREADY being hailed “Cake Gate 2” after Love Island’s Kem Cetinay became the second celebrity slammed by a bakery for failing to promote a free cake

It comes after Catherine Tyldesley, 39, hit headlines this week for the same thing – something she insists she knew nothing about.

Reality star Kem has also been accused of breaking an agreement with a family run bakery.

It was after they claimed that they provided him with a free birthday cake and other gifts in return for social media exposure but say he failed to post anything about it.

According to MailOnline, Kem – who shot to fame on season 3 of Love Island – visited Barcelona in April with pals to launch his new clothing range for Primark.

The trip coincided with his 27th birthday where he enjoyed a chocolate cake to celebrate from La Cava Cakery, which is run by Irish couple Aisling Mackin and her husband Desmond.

According to the Mail, under an agreement with the company that organised the trip, the couple said they provided free cupcakes and Cava for the reality TV star and his guests.

This was done exchange for him posting about it on his Instagram account, and tagging their business – but the bakery owners said this didn’t happen.

Aisling Mackin, 46 told MailOnline: “I work with a lot of influencers and saw this as a good business opportunity. I was happy to provide Kem with a birthday cake and also give him and his pals cupcakes and Cava in exchange for social media exposure.

“But I haven’t had any exposure. Kem and his pals posted about the trip and there’s even pictures of him with the cake we provided but no mention of us anywhere. Our tag @lacavacacakery isn’t in a single post, as we were promised, which is very disappointing.”

She added: “It’s not fair, I feel as if I’ve been led along and taken advantage of. If they didn’t want to give us any exposure, then they should have made that clear from the start and paid for the products.”

In a statement issued to MailOnline, Kem insisted that he was not aware of any arrangements for him to post about La Cava Cakery.

He said: “I was unaware of any agreements in place surrounding the birthday cake that was organised for me while I was in Barcelona to launch my menswear collection in collaboration with Primark.

“I received a direct Instagram message on Wednesday from the Bakery to explain their upset and I have been assured that the third-party provider, who organised the birthday celebration, is in touch with the Bakery to arrange payment for the amazing cakes that they provided.”

Kem continued: “I have no relationship with the third-party agency and they were never warranted to negotiate any social media requirements on my behalf without my knowledge.”

Primark said in a statement: “Primark paid a third-party agency for all fees and costs associated with the event, including a fee for a cake. We believed the fees owed had been passed onto all relevant suppliers, including La Cava Cakery.

“We’ve been reassured the third-party agency is currently in direct contact with La Cava Cakery to resolve this as a matter of priority.”

Meanwhile, Kem’s “cake gate” comes after a small business shared an email exchange between it and a firm representing former Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley.

It asked for a 40th birthday cake, 100 cupcakes and an extra smaller birthday cake for her husband in return for exposure.

The actress has since insisted she had “no idea” the emails were being sent.

A company organising a 40th bash for the actress had approached baker Rebecca Severs over a hefty order for two bespoke cakes.

However, Rebecca shut down Leeds-based party planners NVRLND who said she would be paid “in the form of social media promotion” by the “well-known celebrity“.

Their brief included a request for a free cake for Catherine’s 40th birthday – which falls in September – with a theme of “pinks, sparkles and a touch of flamingos”.

A second freebie cake was requested for Catherine’s husband, photographer Tom Pitfield, and 100 extra cupcakes.

In a tongue in cheek reply, Rebecca, owner of Three Little Birds Bakery in Keighley, West Yorkshire, wrote back: “I’m so sorry to hear that your client has fallen on such hard times they can’t afford to pay small businesses their products.

“Unfortunately as my mortgage provider doesn’t take payment ‘in the form of promotion on their socials’, and my staff can’t feed their kids with exposure on Instagram, I’ll have to decline your very generous offer.”

Rebecca later told her own social media followers that she had been “blown away” by their support.

She added she was “so happy to see that so many other people agree that small business shouldn’t be taken advantage of!”

In a statement, NVRLND founder Victoria Eames defended their request for free cakes.

She said: “We selected Three Little Birds Bakery to collaborate with a view to support a local business and help them grow.

“Our aim is to connect small local businesses with the opportunity of growth and the possibility of a full diary which is what we have experienced when working on past collaborations. We would never expect any business to be out of pocket and nor would our client.

“Our email communication to Three Little Birds has unfortunately been completely misconstrued.

“Due to contractual obligations, we are unable to comment on the identity of our client.”