PR: The Good, Bad and Ugly
“I Went to Sleep Rihanna and Woke Up Britney Spears”
by Kate Catlin on 11/12/2009
Rihanna Speaks Out and Takes Control of the Message
.jpg "Rihanna")
Chris Brown’s assault on his girlfriend Rihanna generated a media storm that had everyone from Oprah Winfrey to the average person speaking their mind. While opinions and comments varied, one thing remained consistent: neither Brown nor Rihanna took the opportunity to tell their side – until last week.
That Whole Night Was Not Part of My Plan
Rihanna broke her silence and spoke exclusively to Diane Sawyer on ABC’s 20/20 last week to reveal what really happened that night as well as her feelings about the incident and all the attention surrounding it. Regarding her silence, the songstress said, "The past few months, I just, I didn't talk about it to anyone, to no one. Not my friends. Not my family. It's not something that I wanted to relive. It's not something I wanted to think about . . . I just put it away in a box . . . and just ignored it really."
It’s Just One Thing that Happened to Me
After taking some time to process, Rihanna realized that in order to move on, she needed to speak out so that her fans could move on with her. By answering Sawyer’s questions candidly, Rihanna took control of the message and emerged as a confident young woman that her fans (and their parents) can understand and ultimately respect.
Rihanna has added a significant cause to her public image – she has taken a stand against domestic violence and encouraged other women to do the same, which makes her a megastar with whom a lot of people can relate. Domestic violence crisis centers saw an increase of calls by almost 60 percent following her interview. The teen hotlines saw an increase of more than 70 percent.
Rihanna has shown that with a combination of inner strength and an excellent public relations strategy, she can overcome just about anything.
Melissa Hackett said...
Hi Kate,
This was certainly an interesting situation with regard to public relations, for both Rihanna’s personal image and domestic violence in general, as evidenced by the huge increase in crisis center calls you cited. I also think it would be interesting to evaluate how much Rihanna’s interview set Chris Brown back in a PR sense. Personally, I felt my anger return full-force after hearing her firsthand account of the incident. Watching Chris Brown’s MTV interview shortly after (during which he seemed to be making more excuses than admittances) didn’t help. I’d be interested to see if the public opinion of Brown has become more negative since his official apology after the incident now that these interviews have happened.
Nov 13, 2009
Kate Catlin said...
Melissa,
Thanks for your comment. I have also been interested in watching the repurcussions for Chris Brown as I shared your increased negative energy after hearing Rihanna’s comments! I feel as though it is very clear that Chris Brown’s PR plan needs some serious work as every time I see him speak he comes across as insincere and reactive rather than proactive. I’ll plan to watch what he does over the next couple weeks and form a thoughful response to what this means for his public image in my next blog. Thanks again for your comments.
Nov 13, 2009