Snooty Supermodel April 9, 2008

Once again, Naomi Campbell confirms her infamous, tactless diva status. Last week, the South London supermodel was arrested at London’s Heathrow airport after hurling racial abuse at a woman cop.

 

The notoriously angry supermodel went berserk after claiming that she was missing a bag and spat on a woman police officer who approached her.  When the cop arrested her, Campbell proceeded to shout out racial slurs, calling the cop and her colleagues “f*ing white honkeys” among other lewd names.  Making excuses, she argued that the only reason she was arrested was because she was black. This is ironic considering Campbell has a long history of violent outbursts, especially with staff and public employees.

 

It’s a shame that publicists actually have to defend ill-mannered, haughty celebrities like this. Personally, if I were representing Campbell I would tell her to find another publicist willing to put up with her crude actions. But, if I were the daring soul to take on this job, I would make sure that she issued a public apology to the police department, British Airways airline, and the general public. Also, I would mandate more anger management classes, because obviously the previous classes did not take hold. God bless the soul that dares to represent this snooty supermodel.

Britney’s Back On Track April 7, 2008

Although Britney’s outlandish conduct has flooded blog sites and entertainment news for what seems like eternity, she’s finally on her way to recovery.  

 

Spears recently guess starred in an episode of the CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” which had unexpectedly high ratings. Star Patrick Neil, from the show, even reported that  “she’s been doing well.  Surprisingly, no British accent.”

 

In addition, Spears’s ex-beau, Kevin Federline is also surprised at how well the fallen star is doing. Federline’s Lawyer, Mark Kaplan, told PEOPLE magazine that he has seen a noticeable difference in the type of press that she is getting, and gives the credit to Spears’ dad, Jamie. Kaplan said that, “before Jamie, it wasn’t a question of what was going to happen – it was a question of when.”

 

So isn’t it ironic that her ex-boyfriend’s lawyer is the one pointing out this digression of negative media attention? Where is her publicist? It’s great that Britney’s dad is getting her back on track, but maybe he should hire a publicist to highlight the disappearance of British accents and action shots of Britney shaving her head.  

Rihanna Cares for Kids March 28, 2008

In a world where celebrities make headlines for drunken departures from L.A. hotspot Pure and fortuitous leakage of sex tapes, it is good to finally see one celebrity using her fame for an admirable cause.

 

Multi-platinum chart topper, Rihanna, recently kicked off a mini tour in Chicago called “Girls Night Out” that will help underprivileged kids.  Rihanna’s charity, The Believe Foundation, and her label, Island Def Jam, will be working with local foundations in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco to put on benefit gigs for children.

 

“When I was young and I would watch television and I would see all the children suffering, I always said when I grow up I want to help,” said the virtuous pop-star of why she created The Believe Foundation.  

 

She continued saying, “Not long after I was in the position where I could help. I started to visit all these children’s hospitals and I have a soft spot for kids.”

 

Now this is something to write about. Rihanna’s publicist should take a moment to draw attention to the 19 year-olds mature acts of generosity to her community. Despite her admirable efforts, usually the only thing highlighted is her good looks and great talent.

 

This should be a lesson to other A-listers. Maybe if celebs stopped being spotlighted for their reckless behavior they would be forced into making the headlines by doing the world good instead of filtering it with trash. Novel thought?

Crisis Communication March 21, 2008

On Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007, a nude picture of Vanessa Hudgens, Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” star, surfaced on multiple websites. This caused turmoil because she was only 18-years-old and a role model on a family friendly television channel. 

 The same day, her rep issued a statement saying that the photograph “was taken privately. It is a personal matter and it is unfortunate that this has become public.” The photo was meant to be seen only by her boyfriend and co-star Zac Efron, but was somehow leaked on the Internet.  

Hudgens learned that the photos would break in the media from her manager and a few days later while she was vacationing in Australia, the pictures surfaced.Friday, Hudgens released a formal statement through her rep that said, “I want to apologize to my fans, whose support and trust means the world to me. I am embarrassed over this situation and regret having ever taken these photos.”

Rumors that her contract with Disney was in danger began to spread. People were worried that because she was a respected figure on a kid’s television network, this might affect her career. However, rumors quickly ended when a Disney Channel spokesperson released this statement: “Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she’s learned a valuable lesson.”

After the scandal and her formal apology statement, Hudgens talked about the lesson she had learned in an interview with Seventeen magazine. She said “with the Internet these days, you don’t have a personal life. Nothing is private: Everyone knows everything, and they can find out everything about you. You’re not as safe as you think you are, and you have to be aware of the people you’re around.” And about the uproar that the pictures caused, Hudgens stated “It was very traumatic, and I am extremely upset it happened. I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions. But I wouldn’t have been able to get through it if it wasn’t for my family, friends and fans, who supported me all along the way.”

In all of the mainstream media, the stories portray Hudgens as innocent, emphasizing her apology statements to the public. The stories avoid going into details of why she took the photos for her boyfriend and how this inappropriate behavior contradicts with her wholesome image on the Disney Channel. Instead the media focus on her remorse. For example, one headline featured in People magazine reads, “Vanessa Hudgens ‘Embarrassed,’ Apologizes for Nude Photo,” and was accompanied by a beautiful picture of her with a charming smile. In the mainstream articles, Hudgens is quoted most often. She speaks on behalf of herself through formal apology statements issued directly to the public, through her rep, or through interviews. There are no foes of the celebrity quoted, or anyone else speaking negatively about her. In conclusion, the mainstream media downplayed the incident, portraying Hudgens as a young, innocent girl who made a forgivable mistake.

The blog sites portray Hudgens in a slightly unfavorable light. None of the blog sites express a very strong opinion about the incident, but instead have a rather satirical, mocking tone. On one blog site, the headline reads,“Hudgens: To Go ‘Wild’?” and jokes about Hudgens striking a deal on “Girls Gone Wild” if Disney were to drop her. The picture accompanying the headline is a seductive photo of her blowing a kiss with the words “Breaking News” in red above it, creating a provocative tone. Other blog sites ignore the ramifications of her actions and instead joke about her presence of pubic hair in the picture. In conclusion, the blog sites don’t see this scandal as having much importance to their audience, but find it amusing that the wholesome image of Disney posed nude. The blog sites don’t attempt to damage Hudgens image, but portray her as a young, promiscuous teenager hiding under a “good girl” cover.

The difference between coverage in mainstream media and blogs is that they are speaking to different audiences, so their portrayal of Hudgens is somewhat contrasting. For example, mainstream media is speaking to a wider audience, including parents of children who watch the Disney Channel and are fans of Hudgens. This audience is more concerned with the celebrity’s apology and downplay of the incident. In contrast, blog sites are mostly visited by college-middle aged adults who find the foolish mistakes of celebrities entertaining, and have no concern with her image on the Disney Channel.

Under her circumstances as a role model to young children, I think that Hudgens handled the crisis very well. She apologized directly to the public and fans, acknowledged that she made a mistake, and went on to say that she had learned a valuable lesson from this incident. In this situation, as her publicist I would have had her handle the situation the same way.

    

Sheen’s Golden Opportunity February 28, 2008

Enough with the B-list celebrity “reality TV” shows! Seriously, get a real job and stop trying to pawn your lame life off on America.

 

Now, in the Charlie Sheen vs. Denise Richards battle, Sheen finally has an edge over his ex-wife. It was reported that Richards will shoot a reality television show featuring her two daughters and Sheen has a real problem with this.

 

Concerned with the well-being of his children, Sheen took the issue to court in an attempt to prevent Richards from including their daughters in the show, but was unsuccessful. Now, sheen is urging viewers to boycott the upcoming “E!” series.

 

Although Sheen lost the court battle, he finally has an opportunity to win the personal battle over his highly publicized divorce with Richards. Finally, his publicist has a chance to spin Sheen’s image into positive light, considering Richards’ accusations that Sheen was abusive and threatening during their marriage.  If I were his publicist I would take this story and run with it. Go ahead- portray his ex-wife as a money-hungry mother and Sheen as a doting dad.  At last, Sheen’s sweet revenge!

Punk Princess Publicist February 22, 2008

It’s Splitville USA for punk princess, Pink, and her easy-on-the-eyes beau, Casey Hart.  And seeing the way she handled the split, maybe she should teach a class entitled “Hollywood Breakups 101”. Hollywood duos take notice! Instead of slicing and dicing her ex-lover in the tabloids, she took a different approach that is not only admirable, but incredibly clever. She started out by directly addressing her fans in her personal blog rather than waiting for gossip to fly, announcing that “this break up is not about cheating, anger, or fighting.” Also, she insisted that although it sounds like a load of cliché crock, they remain friends. She even went further saying that “he’s a good man” and asked her fans to “please support him as well” during this difficult time. As we see many Hollywood celebs claim to remain friends and then stab each other in the back, next time maybe they should take some pointers from this diva princess. Either she should give her publicist a raise or pat herself on the back for promoting herself in a positive light, rather than attracting negative attention to a sticky situation.

Deadbeat Dad February 13, 2008

Poor, poor Dannielynn. Or better yet, low-life, low-life Larry Birkhead!

 

Once again, Larry Birkhead, Anna Nicole’s former lover and father of their child, Dannielynn, has exploited his daughter for money. He recently sold a story to OK! magazine that will feature he and Dannielynn swimming with dolphins together (PerezHilton.com).

Not only does this sound like an extremely lackluster read, but the poor girl has to suffer this desecration and is too young to speak out about what her fame-hungry, scoundrel of a father is doing to her.

Even more appalling, he brought along the camera crew from Entertainment Tonight to document the first time that his daughter, Dannielynn, visited her dead mother’s grave. Sick.

With all the flack that Birkhead is getting from tabloids and popular blog-sites such as perezhilton.com, this might be a good time for him to hire a masterful publicist to clean up his tainted image. With all the publicity stunts that he is pulling, such as selling his stories and interviews to the media, he needs someone to let the public know “why” he is doing these things and his intent. He’s gotten a lot of criticism for being fame and money hungry, but is he getting paid for all of these stunts? (Probably yes…) And what is he doing with this money? A publicist is in dire need to clear these things up. After all, who knows, he could be saving all of the money that he’s making from the stories to start a college fund for sweet Dannielynn.  

Britney Needs Help!! February 10, 2008

At last! There is a finally a light-tower in sight for the shipwrecked life of Britney Spears. As many know, this has been a torturous year for Ms. Spears. And as many would agree, her life has gone so far down the drain that a “comeback” seems impossible.

However, Britney’s ex-manager, Osama Lutfi, created a loop-hole for a publicist to take some negative attention away from Britney and focus it on his own appalling actions. Lutfi admitted to drugging Britney with pills, trying to sell her story and photos to Entertainment Tonight (despite having a confidentiality agreement), and had a restraining order filed against him by Lynn Spears.
In a declaration to the court, Lynn Spears reported that Lufti said, “”If you try to get rid of me, she’ll be dead and I’ll piss on her grave.” (Perezhilton.com) Talk about negative attention! And Lufti’s publicist, Michael Sands, hasn’t made his case any better.
Although Britney may not make a shocking comeback anytime soon, her family at least has the option of hiring a publicist to try and generate feelings of sympathy and compassion toward her. At the same time, they could request the respect of the media to give her privacy during this difficult time in her life.

So go on Mama Spears- hire a publicist that can finally take this once-comical shipwreck and turn it into an American tragedy- a story of a pop princess whose fame led to her own agonizing demise.

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