WEBVTT
00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:09.401
Betrayal billionaires and a broadcast anchor caught between truth and timing and a lot of angry people.
00:00:09.401 --> 00:00:16.085
So we had a lot of headlines last week and a lot of reputations that were on the line, including mine.
00:00:16.085 --> 00:00:19.231
Hey there, welcome to the PR Breakdown Podcast.
00:00:19.231 --> 00:00:27.623
I'm your host, molly McPherson, and this week I'd like to talk about a number of PR crises I spotted last week.
00:00:27.623 --> 00:00:35.301
If you follow me online, you know that I spend more time on the app Substack On Fridays.
00:00:35.301 --> 00:00:50.174
I like to hop on and highlight the PR fails or face plants of the week, so I'd like to highlight a couple of these fails that I saw from last week and introduce the segment to you so you can start looking for them as well.
00:00:51.740 --> 00:00:56.991
The first person who I spoke about last week is someone who comes up frequently in my lives.
00:00:56.991 --> 00:01:00.624
I'm talking about the very talented Hugh Jackman.
00:01:00.624 --> 00:01:07.875
He's been going through a divorce since 2023 from his wife, deborah Lee Furness.
00:01:07.875 --> 00:01:20.412
When they met years ago, it was Deborah who was the bigger celebrity at the time when their joint statement first came out in September 2023, exclusively shared with People magazine.
00:01:20.412 --> 00:01:26.164
It said, quote we have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage.
00:01:26.164 --> 00:01:30.805
Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate, to pursue our individual growth.
00:01:31.406 --> 00:01:34.852
But what surprised me was the news I heard this week.
00:01:34.852 --> 00:01:41.914
There was news that was revealed in January that Hugh Jackman was spending time with Sutton Foster.
00:01:41.914 --> 00:01:46.200
They both starred in Music man together on Broadway and it was interesting.
00:01:46.200 --> 00:02:00.040
In today's live one of the members of the community, chris he, said that a friend of his worked on the Music man and said that there was no indication whatsoever that there was anything going on between these two.
00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:01.662
Again, this is secondhand, thirdhand information coming here.
00:02:01.662 --> 00:02:04.305
Again, this is second-hand, third-hand information coming here.
00:02:04.305 --> 00:02:07.087
Do with it what you will, but that tracks to me.
00:02:07.087 --> 00:02:09.650
It absolutely tracks their friendship.
00:02:09.650 --> 00:02:12.473
When we saw images from it seemed a little staged.
00:02:12.473 --> 00:02:13.633
There's always photographs.
00:02:13.633 --> 00:02:17.137
They're always holding hands, they're always laughing, they're always having so much fun together.
00:02:17.137 --> 00:02:24.334
So in People magazine it was updated May 28th, so this was last week.
00:02:24.354 --> 00:02:35.401
This is the headline Deborah Lee Furness says breakdown of Hugh Jackman.
00:02:35.401 --> 00:02:36.622
Marriage is a profound wound that cuts deep.
00:02:36.622 --> 00:02:42.310
Quote my heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal, hasn't been in there for two years.
00:02:42.310 --> 00:02:52.789
It was on May 23rd that Furness officially filed for divorce and that statement about betrayal, that's harsh.
00:02:52.789 --> 00:02:55.974
That doesn't do Hugh Jackman any favors.
00:02:55.974 --> 00:03:06.502
Another line in the statement, quote however, I believe in a higher power and that God or the universe, whatever you relate to, as your guidance, is always working for us, end quote.
00:03:06.502 --> 00:03:07.585
That's a beautiful line.
00:03:07.585 --> 00:03:08.527
I really like that.
00:03:08.527 --> 00:03:13.307
That belief, she said, has, quote, helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage.
00:03:13.307 --> 00:03:19.429
So it really sounds like now this once amicable separation is not so amicable anymore.
00:03:20.030 --> 00:03:34.074
Hugh Jackman is in a bit of a pickle right now because this would be the time that he would typically lean on his buddy, ryan Reynolds, for some planned paparazzi shots where the two of them would be together.
00:03:34.074 --> 00:03:47.873
They'd be laughing, they'd be joking, they'd be appearing somewhere, they'd be on social media, there would be some coordinated event that they would get press around and that would take a lot of the steam out of something that Deborah was saying.
00:03:47.873 --> 00:03:50.598
But this is not a good look for Hugh.
00:03:50.598 --> 00:03:55.126
So it is curious to see what happened in this marriage.
00:03:55.126 --> 00:03:56.628
Now, again at this channel.
00:03:56.628 --> 00:03:59.835
I do not wish ill will on anyone.
00:03:59.835 --> 00:04:05.841
Everyone goes through problems, whether they're celebrities or they're mere mortals like us walking around the earth.
00:04:05.841 --> 00:04:07.203
We want everyone to be happy.
00:04:07.203 --> 00:04:15.515
However, just pay attention to what Hugh Jackman's going to be doing in the next couple weeks to deflect from this particular crisis.
00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:25.324
Reasons One they did show up in the algorithm.
00:04:25.324 --> 00:04:28.439
Not that I was going to talk about them because they tend to show up in my algorithm, I think, from a generation point of view, similar ages.
00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:43.230
That might be one reason, but it was an email request from a reporter from a UK magazine a big, high gloss, high end one who wanted me to provide a quote.
00:04:43.230 --> 00:04:46.134
She wanted to interview me about Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
00:04:46.134 --> 00:04:52.596
My somewhat immediate reply was I'm sorry, I just don't have time due to work.
00:04:52.596 --> 00:04:59.579
What I really wanted to say was I'm sorry, I just don't want to take the time to think about Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez.
00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:15.891
However, I paused on it for a moment and I thought she's asking me about the psychology of Jeff Bezos, and lately in my work I've really paid attention to the psychology of people and why they do the things they do, and I do that in my work, so naturally it's going to think about it.
00:05:15.891 --> 00:05:30.228
I did talk about their Blue Origin space flight recently, how I felt about that space flight.
00:05:30.228 --> 00:05:33.163
I'll include a link in the show notes to that episode.
00:05:33.624 --> 00:05:43.247
But Bezos and his very phallic-looking spacecraft I think gives us tremendous insight into what he thinks as a male.
00:05:43.247 --> 00:05:57.483
But let's just say I don't think it's a reach to assume that Jeff Bezos is always trying to flaunt more of a manly, macho, rich guy, tech bro king of the world-esque type of a vibe.
00:05:57.483 --> 00:05:59.470
He's the world's third richest man.
00:05:59.470 --> 00:06:05.369
I see him as someone who is in a constant battle for the top spot of the world's richest man.
00:06:05.369 --> 00:06:10.185
The question that the reporter asked me was this Hi, molly, I hope you're really well.
00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:17.694
I'm writing a piece on the Bezos wedding for this magazine and would love a couple of lines of insight from you to include, if at all possible.
00:06:17.694 --> 00:06:20.060
One thing I'm riveted by is their visibility.
00:06:20.060 --> 00:06:29.245
For years I never knew what Jeff Bezos really looked like, but they are conducting their relationship in such a public way, and then they talk about hanging out with the Kardashians, the red carpet appearances.
00:06:29.245 --> 00:06:37.612
I would love to hear your thoughts on why they are being so public about their life when presumably they could very easily be entirely discreet about everything if they wanted to.
00:06:37.612 --> 00:06:39.853
What are they gaining from the publicity?
00:06:39.853 --> 00:06:42.014
What does anyone gain from publicity?
00:06:42.014 --> 00:06:52.951
Okay, I'd like to share with you the quote that I wrote for that reporter, because, psychologically, we all know what's going on with Jeff Bezos, right, we all know.
00:06:52.951 --> 00:06:58.930
So here's my quote Relevance is the new wealth, and headlines are its currency.
00:06:58.930 --> 00:07:03.572
If Jeff Bezos can't be the world's richest man, he can try to be the most photographed one.
00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:10.788
The relationship with Lauren Sanchez is being sold to the public as romantic, but what they're really selling is a spectacle.
00:07:10.788 --> 00:07:14.370
Together, they are trying to co-brand as an A-list power couple.
00:07:14.370 --> 00:07:18.891
Bezos has money to buy almost anything, but not respect.
00:07:18.891 --> 00:07:20.778
That has to be earned.
00:07:20.778 --> 00:07:25.612
What the public sees is a couple hustling for relevance capital.
00:07:25.612 --> 00:07:28.504
Jeff Bezos he's in his 50s.
00:07:28.504 --> 00:07:30.168
So is Lauren Sanchez.
00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:41.351
Someone on the live from last week said I don't think anyone wants to see people that age parade around, and when I first read that I thought I'm that age, but then she said I'm 58 years old and I don't want to see anyone.
00:07:41.351 --> 00:07:44.185
So I love that comment, but that is what they're doing.
00:07:44.185 --> 00:07:48.093
They're parading around at Lauren Sanchez's Bachelorette.
00:07:48.093 --> 00:07:59.595
Kim Kardashian, kris Jenner, katy Perry, eva Longoria these are four people who I would classify as a pay-for-play type people.
00:07:59.595 --> 00:08:01.783
They get paid to show up places.
00:08:01.783 --> 00:08:10.266
So that is Bezos and Sanchez as we ramp up to their wedding, which is going to be held in June in Venice, italy.
00:08:10.266 --> 00:08:18.112
My prediction we're going to see a lot of celebrities there, but Jeff Bezos, no doubt, is footing the bill for every celebrity to show up at their wedding.
00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:30.692
All right, the next person who had a tough week, elon Musk, breaking up with the hand that fed him, that would be President Donald Trump.
00:08:30.692 --> 00:08:44.024
Beautiful bill, he called it a big, beautiful deficit balloon and he also voiced frustration that clean energy incentives were stripped under the same administration he once backed financially and politically.
00:08:44.024 --> 00:08:52.485
Elon Musk has been shunned by the administration and now he's feeling it, and certainly the Tesla stock prices have felt it as well.
00:08:52.485 --> 00:08:57.634
Now, since he's left this week, prices have felt it as well.
00:08:57.634 --> 00:09:01.519
Now, since he's left this week, the stock prices have bumped up a bit.
00:09:01.519 --> 00:09:10.230
This screenshot that I have from May 30th it was sitting at $359, but it was much, much lower.
00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:11.797
It was trending much lower while he was going through a lot of that bad press.
00:09:11.797 --> 00:09:16.282
But from a PR perspective, he's had a rough go because he put everything into President Trump.
00:09:16.282 --> 00:09:43.591
Electing President Trumpted by Doge was gutted to a point where they couldn't successfully collect money because of taxes during the tax season.
00:09:43.591 --> 00:09:50.572
So it was not an effort that went well for Elon Musk and he's still going to struggle from a PR standpoint.
00:09:51.460 --> 00:09:57.183
And the next person I want to highlight was someone I highlighted last week on the podcast and that's Jake Tapper.
00:09:57.183 --> 00:10:18.345
I mentioned, I read or listened to his book Original Sin that he wrote along with Politico's Alex Thompson though you wouldn't know that, because Jake Tapper is getting all the hits and he's taking heavy hits and there was certainly a lot of backlash towards him for being a working journalist hyping his book for CNN, where he works, hyping his book as well.
00:10:18.345 --> 00:10:19.528
A lot of people didn't like it.
00:10:19.528 --> 00:10:21.292
I have opinions on it.
00:10:21.292 --> 00:10:25.408
I took those opinions to social media, which is always dangerous.
00:10:25.408 --> 00:10:29.583
I showed a clip last week from the Megyn Kelly podcast.
00:10:29.583 --> 00:10:31.288
Jake Tapper appeared on that.
00:10:31.288 --> 00:10:48.951
Some people said he was doing that to attract the right the conservative right Fair argument, because that is the audience of Megyn Kelly and he knew that likely a lot of Republicans would want to read that book because it puts Joe Biden in a horrible light.
00:10:48.951 --> 00:10:51.870
But oh, megyn Kelly gutted him on that show.
00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:53.736
He definitely had media training.
00:10:53.736 --> 00:11:07.181
He definitely was prepared for a lot of the backlash, but I don't think Jake Tapper was expecting so much backlash because people there are just so many people took so many different issues with the reason why he wrote the book.
00:11:07.201 --> 00:11:12.681
And the reason why I know this is because I posted a follow-up social media commentary.
00:11:12.681 --> 00:11:13.383
Take on Jake Tapper.
00:11:13.383 --> 00:11:15.350
I said, wow, I'm entering my Kitty Wampus phase of social media commentary.
00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:15.772
Take on Jake Tapper.
00:11:15.772 --> 00:11:19.001
I said, wow, I'm entering my Kitty Wampus phase of social media.
00:11:19.001 --> 00:11:25.394
Because I posted a Megyn Kelly clip and everybody came at me about Jake Tapper.
00:11:25.394 --> 00:11:29.408
They were accusing me of being a sellout to my values.
00:11:29.408 --> 00:11:32.014
They accused me of defending Tapper.
00:11:32.014 --> 00:11:36.243
They accused me of all sorts of things oh, that I was supporting Trump, and all these things.
00:11:36.243 --> 00:11:53.738
My takeaway from this is wow, jake Tapper definitely got a lot of backlash, but the backlash came from a lot of people on the extreme radical left because they feel that if you're going to write a book about someone, you should be writing about Trump and what's going on in the White House.
00:11:54.038 --> 00:11:55.519
Now, that's fair.
00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:56.681
I totally agree.
00:11:56.681 --> 00:11:57.182
That's fair.
00:11:57.182 --> 00:12:01.171
But I look at things from a journalistic point of view.
00:12:01.171 --> 00:12:06.292
I also look at it from a media point of view and I also look at it from a realistic point of view.
00:12:06.292 --> 00:12:10.581
Cnn is not considered a news station to me anymore.
00:12:10.581 --> 00:12:11.624
I'm sorry CNN.
00:12:11.624 --> 00:12:16.490
They're an entertainment cable network that happens to tell news.
00:12:17.293 --> 00:12:21.125
I believe that a lot of journalists out there not just believe.
00:12:21.125 --> 00:12:29.434
I know for a fact that journalists are required to be relevant, they're required to get clicks, they're required to be in headlines.
00:12:29.434 --> 00:12:34.802
They are getting pressure to be seen in other places, mostly online.
00:12:34.802 --> 00:12:40.447
It helps CNN to have one of their anchors have a book out there and talking about the book.
00:12:40.447 --> 00:12:47.991
It helps when reporters have a story and then everybody's chit-chatting about the stories Doesn't matter if it's cable television or local television.
00:12:47.991 --> 00:12:53.976
I know this Social media currency is the currency in journalism nowadays.
00:12:53.976 --> 00:12:55.557
Is that a little sad?
00:12:55.557 --> 00:13:01.326
Yeah, but there's a mutual beneficial relationship happening there as well.
00:13:01.326 --> 00:13:05.244
You can still find really good news out there, which is great, and you can find it online.
00:13:05.244 --> 00:13:08.511
But you cannot deny that the pressure isn't there.
00:13:08.511 --> 00:13:10.703
It is, but even more.
00:13:11.044 --> 00:13:16.114
Here's my take on Tapper and the reason why I'm not incredibly agitated over Tapper.
00:13:16.114 --> 00:13:17.605
One, I just get it.
00:13:17.605 --> 00:13:19.386
This is the environment that we're in.
00:13:19.386 --> 00:13:22.417
But two, this is what I said on TikTok.
00:13:22.417 --> 00:13:22.879
Take a listen.
00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:36.342
But my perspective as someone who works on the inside of these crises, the messaging meltdowns that happen and the ego, the hubris and the narcissism like why these things implode.
00:13:36.342 --> 00:13:38.221
That's why the book interests me.
00:13:38.221 --> 00:13:41.150
It's what happened on the inside that interests me.
00:13:41.150 --> 00:13:47.467
It would be like going after Woodward and Bernstein and saying, yeah, hold them in.
00:13:47.467 --> 00:13:50.173
Mitchell, nixon, you guys are good.
00:13:50.701 --> 00:13:51.602
But damn these journalists.
00:13:51.602 --> 00:13:56.432
The journalism, media industry has changed so much.
00:13:56.432 --> 00:13:58.822
Nowadays, I think every journalist, they're all for themselves.
00:13:58.822 --> 00:14:02.881
Their job is to get as many clicks and relevance as they possibly can.
00:14:02.881 --> 00:14:03.663
That's the currency.
00:14:03.663 --> 00:14:07.660
So Tapper is no different than me or any other person you know.
00:14:07.660 --> 00:14:09.525
On social media, everyone's a content creator.
00:14:09.525 --> 00:14:11.270
So that's just my opinion on that.
00:14:11.270 --> 00:14:12.361
But I totally get it.
00:14:12.361 --> 00:14:14.765
The lines of journalism and ethics totally get that.
00:14:15.927 --> 00:14:23.261
And there's this for all the people who are criticizing that Jake Tapper didn't do a story on Trump.
00:14:23.261 --> 00:14:30.822
How can you criticize a journalist for all the people criticizing Jake Tapper for doing a story on Biden?
00:14:30.822 --> 00:14:45.835
You then would have to criticize anyone who does a book about Trump, because if you're going to be thrilled that someone is going to write a hit piece on President Trump, then you have to say the same thing about Biden.
00:14:45.835 --> 00:14:49.610
That's journalism, that's the economy of media.
00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:55.566
I understand the frustration, but it's the attack and, believe me, I went through it.
00:14:55.566 --> 00:15:00.085
If the taste that I got of it, I can't imagine what Jake Tapper is going through right now.
00:15:00.085 --> 00:15:05.134
His ratings on his program sunk because of it.
00:15:05.134 --> 00:15:13.985
So that is the reason why I'm adding him to my list of PR fails for the week, because he is getting criticized across the political spectrum.
00:15:13.985 --> 00:15:23.513
He's accused by conservatives of covering Biden, mocked by media peers for the book's rollout and questioned by Democrat for his timing and choices.
00:15:23.513 --> 00:15:25.375
All right, everyone.
00:15:25.375 --> 00:15:28.782
And now I have one last PR fail.
00:15:29.302 --> 00:15:35.118
I happened to notice on Reddit people talking about a viral video about Delta Airlines.
00:15:35.118 --> 00:15:42.861
So because I fly Delta frequently, as a matter of fact, I'm hopping on a flight in two days, this viral video caught my eye.
00:15:42.861 --> 00:15:49.443
It was a young girl singing a song from Moana on the flight PA system.
00:15:49.443 --> 00:16:00.042
My immediate reaction as someone who flies all the time I do not appreciate when flight attendants make jokes and let's sing happy birthday and let's do this and whatever.
00:16:00.042 --> 00:16:01.654
I don't love it.
00:16:01.654 --> 00:16:02.538
I understand it.
00:16:02.538 --> 00:16:06.299
I'm all for joy, but flying is joyless to me.
00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:09.599
So to try and make it not so much is just painful for me.
00:16:09.599 --> 00:16:14.682
If I were a flight attendant, if I were a pilot, that's how I would approach every single flight.
00:16:14.682 --> 00:16:17.038
We don't know everyone's story on here.
00:16:17.038 --> 00:16:23.243
The flight was delayed, at least according to social media, by four hours, flying into Orlando.
00:16:23.243 --> 00:16:24.937
So you know there were kids on that flight as well.
00:16:24.937 --> 00:16:32.913
So there was a lot of angst on that flight and that a flight attendant would allow an 11-year-old to get up and, instead of me explaining it, take a listen.
00:16:33.575 --> 00:16:35.860
A Delta Airlines spokesperson told Newsweek.
00:16:35.860 --> 00:16:42.471
Quote we appreciate the customer sharing her talents and apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels.
00:16:42.471 --> 00:16:46.763
End quote have you ever been in a relationship with someone?
00:16:46.763 --> 00:16:52.821
They do something wrong and then they apologize, but they don't apologize for what they did wrong?
00:16:52.821 --> 00:16:55.934
That's what, exactly what this quote is.
00:16:55.934 --> 00:16:59.691
It is so bad it actually makes me think this is a fake response.
00:16:59.691 --> 00:17:01.154
That's how bad of a response this is.
00:17:01.154 --> 00:17:06.333
They're trying to be cute instead of contrite, which is what they need to be.
00:17:06.914 --> 00:17:09.250
Probably would not have had an official statement.
00:17:09.250 --> 00:17:11.738
I'll just say that I probably would have just let it go.
00:17:11.738 --> 00:17:13.823
Are you with me on this?
00:17:13.823 --> 00:17:16.251
Are you with me?
00:17:16.251 --> 00:17:22.770
Anyway, delta, as you heard in my social media post, delta Airlines came out with that statement.
00:17:22.770 --> 00:17:34.441
I was shocked that the only place that I saw that statement was in Newsweek, but this is an internal story, so I have to leave you with one lesson for talking about all these like celebrities and people in the news.
00:17:34.441 --> 00:17:35.282
Here's a lesson.
00:17:35.809 --> 00:17:49.798
If you work in any organization and you have anything to do with communication and this is straight from my work, I did this week in my job, I really did this Remember this Internal problems cause external problems.
00:17:49.798 --> 00:17:56.071
If you are dealing with an external crisis, I guarantee you you are already dealing with an internal crisis.
00:17:56.071 --> 00:17:57.314
I promise you this.
00:17:57.314 --> 00:18:03.071
So for Delta, this is an external crisis because it is viral on social media.
00:18:03.071 --> 00:18:06.979
It may not be anymore now that it's a week later or a couple days later.
00:18:06.979 --> 00:18:11.788
Media it may not be anymore now that it's a week later or a couple days later.
00:18:11.788 --> 00:18:18.122
But internally, I know there are a ton of flight attendants who are dying to know who the flight attendants were on that flight.
00:18:18.122 --> 00:18:19.829
I know it and people were trying to figure it out at the time of this recording.
00:18:19.829 --> 00:18:25.482
There's already a memo in the inbox of Delta employees, or at least Delta flight crew.
00:18:25.482 --> 00:18:26.772
It's just my prediction.
00:18:27.556 --> 00:18:28.439
All right, everyone.
00:18:28.439 --> 00:18:30.935
That's all for this week on the PR Breakdown.
00:18:30.935 --> 00:18:32.200
Thanks so much for listening.
00:18:32.200 --> 00:18:36.155
As I said from the beginning, come on over to Substack.
00:18:36.155 --> 00:18:36.897
Check me out there.
00:18:36.897 --> 00:18:39.542
The community is fantastic.
00:18:39.542 --> 00:18:45.260
That's where I do extended commentary that you usually hear on the podcast each week.
00:18:45.260 --> 00:18:47.815
All right, everyone have a great week.
00:18:47.815 --> 00:18:48.557
Bye for now.