5 Pop Culture PR Crises
By Ellie Hamrick
Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. (Source: Google Images)
In a career that is all about image and perception, it is often very difficult to know what will be perceived in a positive light, or what could potentially destroy someone’s career. Public relations professionals are often faced with tough decisions when it comes to correctly representing a brand or a company, and sometimes, despite taking necessary precautions, well-intentioned PR can still be perceived as tone-deaf, misguided or just downright inappropriate. In a world where “cancel culture” is becoming more prevalent every day, there is one group of people that is especially privy to the effects of bad PR: celebrities. Constantly in the public eye, celebrities and the PR professionals that represent them have the extremely challenging job of making sure they aren’t “canceled.” But, mistakes have been made, and PR disasters are bound to happen. There’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? Well, that’s a subjective statement, but I think this article proves otherwise. In no particular order, here are 5 pop culture PR disasters that are definitely something to behold:
1) Janet Jackson’s “Wardrobe Malfunction” at the2004 Super Bowl Halftime Show
At the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, Janet Jackson was performing with Justin Timberlake when Jackson had a “wardrobe malfunction” that was blasted on millions of televisions all over the U.S. Following this PR disaster, CBS took the biggest hit: the television network was fined $550,000 for not preventing Jackson’s malfunction from being viewed by millions of Americans. Jackson also released a written statement and a video apologizing for the mishap. Despite Timberlake being the one to rip open Jackson’s shirt and cause the “wardrobe malfunction,”Jackson continues to face the brunt of the criticism for not being a “family friendly” performer. Since the incident, stricter regulations on what is permitted to be shown on American television have been implemented.
2) Kendall Jenner and the Pepsi Ad
In 2017, Kendall Jenner partnered with Pepsi for an incredibly tone-deaf advertisement. In the ad, Jenner hands a Pepsi to a cop at a protest as an olive branch, implying that something as trivial as an ice cold Pepsi can stop police brutality and spark peace between cops and citizens. The ad received immediate backlash and was pulled from television the following day. Although Jenner was still paid in full for the commercial, it is almost certain that she missed out on various endorsements in the future as a result of this controversial ad. Pepsi eventually apologized for putting Jenner in a tough situation, and Jenner later revealed on an episode of “Keeping up with the Kardashians” that she was mortified that she was in an ad that was so poorly received by the public.
3) Ryan Lochte and the “Robbery” in Rio
At the Olympic Games in 2016, American swimmer Ryan Lochte made a grand exit from the games when he and three other American swimmers falsely claimed that they were robbed at gunpoint at a Shell gas station in Rio. This statement was not only false, but it also mistakenly portrayed Rio as an unsafe city and tarnished the South American city’s reputation. Lochte later admitted that he wasn’t actually sure what happened that night and was subsequently suspended from the sport for ten months, during which he was also unable to collect his generous U.S.A. Swimming stipend. Not to mention, he was also dropped by four of his major sponsors: Speedo, Ralph Lauren, Gentle Hair Removal, and Airweave, which cost him an estimated 1 million dollars. Lochte quickly recovered and was able to score new endorsements shortly thereafter, as well as being casted onto season 23 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
4) Kanye West “Cancels” Himself
Kanye West, famed rapper, ex-husband to Kim Kardashian and founder of the clothing brand Yeezy, “canceled” himself after releasing a series of very antisemitic tweets in 2022. The rapper has been known to be controversial in years past, but this behavior reached an all time high following a series of antisemitic tweets and a shirt that he wore to a Paris fashion show in March that said “white lives matter.” Following his controversial actions, West lost $1.5 billion of his net worth when his partnership with Adidas, among a host of other sponsorships and endorsements, was terminated. West has since released an insincere and rather confusing apology in an attempt to rectify his antisemitic and racist behavior, which was not well-received by the public. In the eyes of many Americans, he is still “canceled.”
5) Will Smith’s Slap that was Heard Around the World
After presenter Chris Rock said some derogatory things about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith offered a string of expletives and then promptly charged the stage, where he slapped Chris Rock across the face. Following the incident, many were shocked to find that Smith was allowed to present his acceptance speech for his role in “King Richard” an hour later. The slap invoked a sense of confusion around the country: was the slap orchestrated, or was it genuine? The incident revealed just how hard it is to be a celebrity publicist, as Smith’s actions came down on his long-term publicist Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson. Following the incident, Smith released a perfectly crafted written apology on Instagram, which was most likely curated by Wasson. Smith was banned from the Oscars for a decade, and has become less active on social media since posting his apology.
Sources:
https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/janet-jackson-justin-timberlake-2004-super-bowl-what-happened-8007041/
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-biggest-corporate-pr-disasters-of-the-decade-2009-12#abcs-locker-room-scene-2005-7
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/10/01/kendall-jenner-cries-over-pepsi-ad-backlash-in-keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-premiere/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/04/07/will-smith-chris-rock-slap-oscars-pr-crisis/
https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/3790542-top-10-pr-wins-and-fails-of-2022/https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/3696484-ye-reluctantly-apologizes-for-anti-semitic-tweet/https://nypost.com/2022/10/07/kanye-west-defends-white-lives-matter-shirt-on-tucker-carlson/https://time.com/4458405/ryan-lochte-rio-robbery-olympics/
