A Negative Reputation the Only Way to Get on the A-List?

In corporate world, the rules are simple. Those who do wrong and suffer the consequences–if not legally, then through public opinion.

For entertainment, the rules are completely opposite. The worse celebrities behave, the more people crave them.

Take a second to think of two celebrities off the top of your head. I can almost guarantee that Britney Spears will be one of them. The question is why? Her talent is less than desirable and she hasn’t had a project in years (with the exception of her recent album). But for some reason, she is the face of the entertainment industry to those who aren’t familiar with that world.

Her actions have grown to be more destructive by the week but it’s obvious that the worse she does, the more paparazzi hunt her down.

Case in point: When R&B singer Akon’s album, Trouble, first came on the scene in 2004, everyone was chomping at the bits over who was this badass newcomer. His voice was decent but his “street cred” hooked people. But that credit has been blown by The Smoking Gun report that stated he fabricated his whole criminal past.

I first read the article on E!News and later followed up with Michelle Malkin’s blog, which calls him a marketing fraud. 

I don’t need to go into details about what lies Akon has told (see above links for all that), but I’m confused with why he felt the need to make it up. He obviously wanted to put himself in the same light as “notorious thugs” such as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and TI.

We can’t really blame him because the message the public is sending is to ”do bad and we’ll worship you!”

If it’s not painfully clear, look at the celebrities with talent and somewhat clean backgrounds who aren’t getting the same amount of press attention. Toni Braxton, Julia Roberts, Robin Thicke, etc. These are the kind of entertainers who rely on their talent to get attention. Seems like a funny notion to stars such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan but it doesn’t hurt try it.

As PR reps, how do they handle it? In the white-collar world, PR agencies pull their hair out trying to keep their clients out of the negative spotlight. PR folks act as clients’ conscious telling them what is the right thing to do.

With celebrities, there’s not a lot of options when the client is diving head first into the pit of crisis. These kind of celebrities, also known as media whores, find every way possible to seem like a deviant so that they can be on the cover of US Weekly.

How can PR reps convince them that their talent keeps them afloat. More importantly, what can they do if their client has no talent (shocker)?

“No Comment” Doesn’t Cut it

It’s been a favorite for the squeamish to say “no comment” whenever they’re faced with an uncomfortable question. Other top methods are dodging the question or not returning calls.

One thing that the players in the entertainment game should learn is that the media always gets their story. Technology has become too advanced for anyone to think that secrets are possible.

Everything celebrities do and say is always being watched and recorded. Britney Spears has learned this lesson many times over. When she shaved her head and got two new tattoos on Feb. 16 (2007), she probably thought she could do it without being noticed (at least not right away). Low and behold, a team of banded brothers with their trusted cameras were there to shoot the whole thing and get it out on the Internet at lightning speed.

Some celebrities may not want to hear this but they need to be an open book. They can no longer see themselves as people who can keep their personal lives just that. It’s still an ongoing debate, as seen by a USA Today article, on whether or not celebrities should adhere to this obligation.

Why you ask? It’s simple really. Celebrities hold a responsibility to their fans. The people who see their movies, read their Web sites and listen to their songs make their career. Celebrities need to be respectful of the effect they have on their fans.

To make it more easy to understand, think of it like a business. A business has many publics: customers, stockholders, the media, the community and so on. They have a responsibility (many times required by law) to be completely up front and honest with their publics. Why? Because these publics have some form of an investment in that business. If they find out that the business was being deceitful, the public will counteract.

How can a celebrity be upfront:

The media are now your friends. Yes, the paparazzi that stands outside your window and the ones that follow you down Wilshire Blvd. They are the first middleman between your fans and you.

Without them (cringing to admit this), your fans will know nothing about you. No updates, no album releases, no upcoming movies. How will a fan know that you’re working on a movie this summer based on their favorite book? How will they know that you’re going on concert and a tour stop will be in their city?

Journalists are the ones who get the word out. Yes, your agent or manager is the one who technically gets that information out, but what if the journalist that they call say “so what”?

It’s a love-hate relationship between the media and celebrities much like the ones that PR professionals share with the media as well.

Simon Hattenstone, a journalist, wrote an article proving my point but from the media’s perspective.