The Dos and Don'ts of Rehabbing Your Celebrity Image
(Photos by Getty Images, Pacific Coast News)
Lindsay Lohan heads to court yet again. (Pacific Coast News) We see it time and time again with celebrities, politicians, athletes: Famous people have a way of backing themselves into controversial PR nightmares ranging from adultery to harassment to violence to severe cases of classic foot-in-mouth. With the cult of celebrity and the 24-hour news cycle what they are today, the rich and famous don't have much room to hide their mistakes, but that hasn't stopped some of them from involuntarily attempting career suicide. So, the real question is not why they get themselves into such situations, it's why do some celebrities come back from the fallout, while others are never forgiven.First, America loves a good redemption story; rooting for a comeback or championing an underdog is part of almost every take on the American dream, so let's kick the notion that the level of fame or attractiveness or talent is the ultimate determining factor in who returns to the public's good graces and who remains a villain. If Paul Reubens can recapture his image as a goofy, asexual kid's show host after a much reported self servicing in an seedy XXX theater, and if Michael Vick can sign a $100 million contract after serving time for running a dogfighting ring, then we're pretty sure the public ! can embr ace most anyone.
However, if you're going to work the redemption angle, there are certain ways to go about it, and some celebs need to take note. Tiger Woods, Chris Brown, Lindsay Lohan, and Anthony Weiner are still fighting the uphill battle of rehabilitating their relationship with public perception, but how do they make the turnaround? It's time we analyze the dos and don'ts of image rehab.
Do: Be open and honest about your transgressions right away. In the immediate wake of controversy, shutting out the public only makes you look more suspicious and less sympathetic. It's been two years since Tiger Woods had his explosion of bad press and scandal, and he's still not gaining any momentum with improving his image. Namely, it's because he refuses to explain himself. Hiding behind calculated press releases or desires for privacy allows the media and/or public to speculate and create their own narratives. Plus, so far, it's made him seem arrogant and robotic, which are qualities the public is never drawn to.
Don't: Ditch the blame on someone or something else. This goes hand in hand with the above "do" in that honesty is the best policy. A cover-up attempt never seems to work and digs you in an even deeper hole; just ask Anthony Weiner, who said he was a victim of cyber hacking, which resulted in the infamous explicit crotch shot coming from his Twitt! er accou nt. When the truth came out that it was in fact his crotch and he in fact sent the photo, the damage had been done, and he looked all the more sleazy for scapegoating.
Do: Be sincere with your apology and accountable for your mistakes. So many celebrity mishaps have happened over the years, that the public can gauge genuine remorse and a publicist-written apology statement. Because so many people didn't buy the rehearsed "I'm sorry" speeches of Chris Brown after his assault on Rihanna and Tiger Woods after his sex scandal, the public has yet to open themselves to the idea of redemption.
Do: Give back to the community. If there's a specific sect of the population that felt the most directly offended, then you owe them something. Michael Vick jumped all over this once he was arrested for dogfighting; he joined with PETA to learn from the organization and perform community outreach, which demonstrated a willingness to improve himself and grow. Chris Brown should be doing the same with domestic violence, as should Lindsay Lohan with drug and alcohol abuse.
Don't: Continue your lavish lifestyle for everyone to see. We're looking your way again, Lohan. The last thing people want to see after you've been arrested or sued is you out partying and carrying on like nothing happened. It undermines any attempt at remorse or apology and plays into the perception that celebrit! ies thin k they can get away with everything because they are somehow entitled to excess. Don't repeat your mistakes goes hand in hand here, again something Lindsay could stand to learn. Two DUI arrests in one year or continually failing to show up to court dates makes it difficult for the public to believe Lohan even cares about cleaning up her act. And when Chris Brown says he's working on his anger problem, he shouldn't blow up in the green room of Good Morning, America by throwing a chair through the window and storming out of the building. That seems kind of obvious, right?
Do: Realize and own that you will live with your mistakes forever. Again, Brown continues to take a step back in rehabbing his image every time he gets fed up with interviewers asking about "the incident" or declares that he's "done apologizing." The public is ready to forgive, so long as you show some gratitude for that forgiveness and remain remorseful for your fall from grace. Actors like Robert Downey Jr. or Drew Barrymore don't hide from their past mistakes, they see them as experiences that will always keep them grounded.
Do: Laugh at yourself. This one is tricky and applies as a case by case basis. People don't want to hear Chris Brown joke about domestic violence or Michael Vick crack wise about killing dogs, but in cases that are more about embarrassment than moral outrage, humor is an ally. Remember when Hugh Grant got ca! ught ste pping out on Elizabeth Hurley after he was arrested for soliciting sex from a prostitute? He squashed most of his image fallout with a simple appearance on The Tonight Show, where he showed up to poke fun at the whole debacle, and it worked. When Leno opened with, "What the hell were you thinking," the whole incident was deflated. We like people who can laugh at themselves; it's humanizing and beats people to the punch on the joke-making front. Weiner and Woods could have helped themselves here. Heck, even Charlie Sheen had an entire roast designed to humanize himself after his campaign of debauchery and mental instability.
The stuff you can't come back from: We said earlier that, if done correctly, celebrities can come back from almost anything; however, that doesn't mean everything. If a celeb is perceived as racist, then they it's a career curtain call. Mel Gibson and Michael Richards are learning this the hard way. Even though Larry David tried the give Richards the "laugh at yourself" out in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Richards isn't exactly getting call backs from anywhere else, and Gibson's The Beaver film (despite being filmed prior to his meltdown) certainly got hurt at the box office due to his anti-semitic outburst. It seems that the best they can hope for is that their modern memory doesn't impact how we feel about Braveheart or Kramer.