How or Should a PR Person Recover from a Connection with Something Worse than #MeToo?

Andrew Blum, Principal, AJB Communications In the annals of PR executives connected to controversial or scandal-ridden people, there have been plenty. Entertainment publicist Peggy Siegal has recently lost several pieces of work from Hollywood studios and other companies.Her offense? She helped and befriended Jeffrey Epstein, who is charged with more disgusting crimes than even Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby.This begs the question whether a PR person should befriend or work for or help anyone who is facing the storm of public opinion and law enforcement investigations. And should a publicist face a backlash for it?In Siegal’s case, The New York Times reported that she would get Epstein, a financier and registered sex offender, into movie screenings after he was released from jail following a 2008 conviction, and she hosted a dinner at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion attended by Prince Andrew.“The culture before #MeToo was — ‘You’ve done your time, now you’re forgiven.’” Siegal told the Times. “He said he’d served his time and assured me that he changed his ways," she said of Epstein.No matter, Netflix and Hollywood studios and other entertainment companies are cutting ties to her due to her Epstein connections, according to Variety. According to the report, FX and Annapurna Pictures are among companies that broke off their relationships with Siegal.Epstein was arrested on July 8, 2019, on charges of sex trafficking and trafficking a minor and was later denied bail.After stories from the Times and Hollywood Reporter detailed how Siegal got Epstein into exclusive events, Netflix reportedly fired the publicist, who had been a consultant on its Emmy campaign. Variety reported that FX cut Siegal from its tastemaker events for TV series, and that Annapurna fired her from overseeing the premiere of the upcoming film “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?”Epstein previously served a 13-month sentence in Florida, much of that time spent on work release, after being convicted in 2008 on two counts of procuring and soliciting prostitution.The Hollywood Reporter also reported that Siegal helped reintroduce Epstein into elite events after his time in jail, reportedly receiving gifts and free travel from the financier. Siegal told the outlet that at the time, it was not “common knowledge” that Epstein had molested children. “Had I known that he had been accused of abusing underage girls, I would not have maintained a friendship with him," she said to the Hollywood Reporter.Now what for Siegal? Should she mount her own PR campaign or sit tight?Like many of the men in the #MeToo scandals who have lost their jobs or been shunned, she may have to bide her time. Trying for a comeback now or too soon may backfire – just ask Louis C.K., Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose or Mario Batali. Siegal may find she will be on the outs for some time.But she may not be alone there for long. According to a recent New York Magazine article, many other well-known people’s names (more than 150 listed on 11 magazine pages) were found in Epstein’s black book or on his private jet log. Some of them could be next to face a backlash.We’re in a public and PR era now where people don’t forgive and forget too easily.

About the Author: Andrew Blum is a PR consultant and media trainer and principal of AJB Communications. He has directed PR for professional services and financial services firms, NGOs, agencies and other clients. As a PR executive, and formerly as a journalist, he has been involved on both sides of the media aisle in some of the most media intensive crises of the past 25 years. Contact him at