I told you not to push the wrong buttons!
Charlie Sheen isn't the only celebrity missing a publicist. You can add Chris Brown to the list. It's been a rough year for Brown. Things went wrong for him a couple of Academy Awards ago. He and his then gal pal Rihanna were set to perform a duet number at the event. It was gonna be a big deal for them. Then pre Oscar nerves and anger issues got the better of Brown. While he and Rihanna were motoring around LA they had a disagreement; something about strange women leaving text messages on Brown phone. Next thing you knew Rihanna was wearing the steering wheel like a head band.Normally that thing would've been hushed up. That's what publicists are for. However this time meddling members of the public got in the way. Witnesses to the altercation phoned the cops. Since Rihanna had taken the keys from the ignition and tossed them out the window - that's when Chris lost his shit - there was no way to blow the scene. When the authorities arrived Brown had fled the scene on foot, and they found Rihanna battered and bloodied. The police then went on to take Rihanna's statement and take a lot of crime scene photos that didn't do brown any good in the court of public opinion.
After that Brown was in the dog house. That's not when his PR rep quit. Brown still had a committed fan base who were leaving lots of Myspace and Facebook messages of support. So there was still the opportunity to do important work - like rebuilding his career by repairing his image. Chris would have to lay low for awhile. Then when everyone had calmed down a bit he could make some low key public apologies. The apologies are no problem. PR Reps can whip those up pretty quick, and may even have standard form letter type mea culpa on file and waiting just in case; just the way major newspapers have the obits for troubled celebs drawn up in advance and ready to role. It also helps to have an experienced person write these things up for you so that you'll sound like you know what you did wrong.
Everything was going off according to plan. Chris was even getting ready to release some stuff and do some public appearances. A few duets with established and respectable performers were lined up. That's so Chris could get back into the public's good graces on the coat tails of performers that they still liked. The manipulators were using every trick in the book and it looked like the plan might pay off too. Then Chris goes and pulls one of his patented boners.
The boner in question occurred shortly after a recent GMA interview. Chris was being interviewed by Robin Roberts. Now doubt all the ground work had been done in advance. The PR team had moved in with a pre selected set of questions - nothing awkward; and instruction to kid glove the interview. Then Robin went and did something that threw everything out of whack. She brought up Rihanna. That put Chris off his game. By the time he got back to his dressing room he had a full head of steam. So full in fact that he trashed the joint like he was Charlie Sheen entertaining a hooker in a hotel room. He tried to throw a chair through a window too, for good measure. When the creative temperament goes tilt, look out!
That little stunt seemed to be the last straw. It did get Chris a lot of publicity. People started talking about him like he was the bastard child of OJ Simpson by Mel Gibson or something. Only Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin were more publicly disliked. That's to say that though he might still have a future in politics, show business is looking bleak for him right now! Maybe he can find something on FOX News.
They say that there's no such thing as bad press. The trouble is that this kind of press was completely opposite tot he kind of press his hard working PR team had been trying to build up for him over the past year. You know, the whole "Chris Brown is not a monster" angle. Then in one impulsive outburst he threw that hard work down the drain. Since trying to help some one who isn't helping themselves is a waste, his rep Tammy Brook walked off the job in disgust.
So things don't look good for Chris right now. Getting your own PR rep is a right of passage for celebrities. It mark the acceptance into the 'community', the way confirmation does for Christians. They're the ones who show you the finer points of playing the game. They get rid of those personal problems the way a father confessor might help clear things up with God. So when your PR rep abandons you, it's like being excommunicated from the entertainment business. After that it's down hill no matter how bad you want to get back. You can still put yourself out there, but you're strictly D List. You career prospects are restricted to pitching reality TV shows based on fucking up, and possibly dating Kat Von D.
This is the position that poor Chris currently finds himself in. So for all of you who were worried that a woman beater might worm his way back into a successful entertainment career, relax. If you ever see this guy again it's gonna be on a double date with Michael Lohan, or on some reality TV spectacle like Dr Drew's Rehab. Perhaps he might hook up with Octomom!
That might be possible since Chris hasn't given up and is trying to say the right things, like "I got very emotional, and I wanna apologize for acting like that." So maybe he could play the bi polar angle. It could even be time for a drug abuse admission. Probelm is that without a PR rep to sell that, he's gonna have a hard time getting the media to take it seriously. He's like a tree falling in the forrest without anyone to run around to news outlets for him explaining that the tree has a problem which requires our understanding and sympathy. Look on the bright side Chris - the National Enquirer is gonna be following you for years to come!
