278: Courting Public Favor: Jessica Biel & Justin Timberlake

Did you really think I'd stay away for that long? No way. Peer crises have been piling up in my absence. But don't worry, I'm back to break them down one headline at a time. Let's get to work. Because Chaos Crisis waits for no one. Welcome to the first episode of the newly formatted podcast. For those of you who have been with me since the beginning, thank you for sticking around. For the new people welcome in this relaunch, I'm shaking things up a bit. I noticed that my audience, particularly on TikTok, loves the quick, insightful breakdowns of the PR moves, strategies and crises that dominate the weekly conversation. So I've decided to bring that same energy here to this podcast. Each week, I'll be focusing on one story that has everyone talking. I'll go behind the headlines to uncover the real motives and strategies at play. Whether it's a savvy PR move or a complete blunder, think of this podcast as an extension of what you see on TikTok, but with the added depth and detail that only a podcast format can offer. If you're craving even deeper dives, you can join me on Patreon, where I go further into these stories, exploring the nuances and the behind the scenes details that don't always make it to the public eye. If you're new to my work, my approach is simple. Own your mess and then you will control the chaos. So whether it's a genuine move or a PR stunt, I use my expertise as a crisis communication strategist to reveal what's really happening and why it matters. I'm not a creator of gossip. I would rather look at my work as strategic analysis, deconstructing stories that everyone's talking about. Now, some people might label what I do as blind gossip, if you're not familiar with the term. It refers to sharing rumors or insider information without revealing sources. But my approach is entirely different. There are a lot of blind gossip creators who I follow, who I admire. But I look at my work as delving into the narratives that pull out lessons. I don't want to malign people or sensationalize. I'm looking for valuable strategic lessons, and I look for them for myself to be honest and for my clients. I like to focus on spotting the tactics at play to theorize about the underlying strategy. So my goal is to teach these insights to you. But again, but also it's for me to hone my work as a communication strategist. The subtext of all my work is that every lesson I share Usually I'll use a headline or a celebrity story or crisis as my device to share a lesson that can be applied in real life. It's this wisdom that I've gained just through experience, whether it's professional or personal. I like to take headlines and share what I've learned and do what I do to my poor kids constantly. They'll call them lectures, I call them learning lab. But I want to share what I've learned to help you become better communicators, to help you live your best life. For example, here's something that happened over the weekend. For instance, this past weekend, Labor Day weekend, I went to TikTok. I wasn't planning on doing it. This was going to be a restful weekend while entertaining heavily, if you will. I got to go to the beach multiple days. I had Moscow mules multiple days. I went to one of the most fabulous dinner parties I've ever been to. Surf and turf, lobster and like the best piece of meat I have ever had in my life, seared to perfection. It was a great weekend, but there was a moment where, where I went to an outdoor event. I was in Massachusetts and I was a little duller, you know, in the brain because I had been enjoying my Labor Day weekend for the previous days. When I was waiting for someone, I went to my phone to look at TikTok. Sometimes I do, as a content creator and a film person, to put posts on there. And the easiest way to do it sometimes is just to answer a question or if someone tags me in something. And I noticed that someone had tagged me on a post where someone was talking about Jessica Biel appearing at the US Open. When I saw that, I thought, here we go. I did not research anything. I did not Google anything else other than to grab a shot of some of the headlines from Jessica Beale showing up at the US Open with her son with Justin Timberlake. Now, what caught my attention wasn't just the rarity of the outing that we don't typically see Jessica Biel out in public. It's also the why, why now and why with a son. In the past, Jessica Biel has admitted that she's had a struggle with balancing her family life with her professional life. I give Jessica Biel on the celebrity scale. I'm going to put her on her own C list. Maybe B minus, maybe B, B minus. But she's A adjacent because her husband, Justin Timberlake, is A list. So to see Jessica Biel on her own kind of puts her back down to where she is on the list. And if she were sitting alone, it would be sending a different message. But all of a sudden the sun is there. Like, why are we seeing the son that she has with Justin Timberlake? Now, she has said in the past that she puts herself at the bottom of the totem pole of her family, which by the way, isn't PC. You should not be using any of the kind of racial stereotypes out there. But that's an aside. She said that she's still working on finding balance for herself and that she's not great at it. She seems like someone who is a good mother who focuses on her kids, unlike her husband. If you're not familiar with Justin Timberlake, but really if you're listening to this podcast, you're, you're familiar with them. His last song, Cry Me a River, now that's in your head all day. You're welcome. So we have Cry Me a River, Justin Timberlake with 7th Heaven, Jessica Biel. Now, together, they have opted to keep their two children out of the limelight and they've been very public about that. So typically on social media, you're only going to see the back of their heads. I also think I've seen them put emojis on their kids face faces as well now. Understandable, and I applaud it when celebrities do that because they're looking out for their kids. They're putting a premium on their children's privacy and I respect that. And that's not easy to do if you're a celebrity. Jessica Biel suddenly decides that 9 year old Silas can be seen and not just anywhere. He's not just walking down the street, he's at a highly publicized event with people. It's the US Open. When I saw that, I immediately took to TikTok to give my theory. You can go to my TikTok to get more of my take on why Jessica Biel was at this US Open with her son. I think it's part of a bigger strategic preemptive damage control play. The tactic is, is misdirection by bringing her son. The reason why is Justin Timberlake has had some problems recently. On June 18, Justin Timberlake, her husband, was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York. He got a DWI because he failed to stop at a stop sign and also to maintain his lane. Timberlake told police at the time that he had been following friends home. So of course that touched off lots of speculation about who he could have been with. Also when he was getting arrested, there were friends there apparently begging the police to not arrest him. To give him a break. Now, some people speculated that it could have been Jay Z and Beyonce. They just arrived into town. There's another person, Michael Rubin, a billionaire whose friends of Timberlake, but most likely it's JT pal Jimmy Fallon, because his house is right down the road. It's in Sega Ponic. And where Timberlake was pulled over was at the intersection of Madison and Middle Lane Highway. Madison turns in to the road where Madison turns into Sag Road, where Jimmy Fallon and his wife and two kids have a summer. Side note, Jimmy Fallon was the topic of my very first foray into using celebrity as a device to teach. Back in 2015. I wrote a blog post at that time. I had a blog talking about an incident that he had at home where he fell on a braided rug and caught his hand on the counter. On his left hand, we had a wedding ring causing a ring avulsion. If you do not know what a ring avulsion is, just imagine what it is. But it was devastating to his hand and also to his reputation because he had to go on the air on his show with this big contraption on his hand. So it was a nightly reminder that Jimmy Fallon had this accident. Part of the buzz around him and the rumors and the whispers is that Jimmy Fallon had somewhat of a drinking problem, was a little bit out of control. We know a year ago this month, Rolling Stone did a hit piece on Jimmy Fallon. How do we know that? Because naturally, you were following me on TikTok and I talked about it because September's a big month for celebrity stories. So Jimmy Fallon and the hit piece with Rolling Stone was partly about his behavior backstage. And some people, some sources in the story were implying that drinking may have influenced his persnickety kind of salty behavior. Now, that was a year ago. So now we have Justin Timberlake heading over to Jimmy Fallon's house. There isn't a police dash cam to prove that. And to also prove that perhaps who he was following home. Maybe a friend was in front and they saw the lights and then they came around and tried to help Justin Timberlake. We might assume that it was a celebrity. If it wasn't a celebrity, if they had been drinking as well, they might want to walk away. So perhaps it could have been a celebrity that maybe was in a passenger seat. They maybe parked down the street and then came up begging. So. So this guy wouldn't get arrested. But I'm going with Jimmy Fallon. But we have no sourcing on that, so don't quote me on that. TMZ reported that Justin Timberlake was partying at the American Hotel. That was six blocks away from where the stop happened with the police. The police said in the report that Timberlake showed signs of intoxication. He had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and poor performance on sobriety tests. Now Timberlake said he only had one martini, but police wrote in the report that he was quote, unable to focus while looking for vehicle registration. They also said during a walk and turn field sobriety test, he. That's when the driver's required to step heel to toe in a straight line in one direction and then back again, that Timberlake took the steps incorrectly in the second half of that test. So that was recorded in the paperwork. He also swayed during the one leg stand test. He had used his arms to try and balance and he failed to keep his foot off the ground. Now he was read, as Miranda writes, Timberlake declined to speak to the police, but they said he remained calm. He also said he was not doing a chemical test. And then they asked him to undergo the test two more times. Once at 1.08am, another time at 1.23am Both occasions he said that he refused. So he was brought to East Hampton Town police headquarters and that's where he was held overnight. And when he was released the next day on his own recognizance without bail, they quickly spirited him out the back. Everyone was in the front. So he has a lawyer, you know, like a Bulldog attorney, Edward Burke, who put out a statement that said, I look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake on these allegations. I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time, but am currently awaiting full discovery from the district attorneys office. The police did release a mug shot and then everyone saw the stories, certainly. So Burke, the attorney did speak to a local paper, the Patch. If you happen to have a neighborhood Patch, he did let them know, you know, there's some intrepid reporter at the Patch now. Did his lawyer talk to the Patch because he was so nervous that a reporter was coming out to speak to him? No. He strategically used a small town paper to bulldog through whoever that reporter or stringer was that had to get that information. That's a lot different. Speaking to the Patch is a lot different than speaking to the New York Times and the New York Post. Timberlake pleaded not guilty and his lawyer said there was no accident and no one was hurt. So we have a sense of where his legal strategy is going. On July 26, 2024, Timberlake scheduled to appear in court. He did not attend because he was performing in Poland on that date. Then on August 2nd, Timberlake participated in the hearing. It was virtual and he was. It was a new arraignment and his license was suspended because he refused to take the Breathalyzer. And at that hearing, the judge criticized Timberlake's attorney for being irresponsible. So some of his comments must have been pretty hot because he threatened a gag order. So this is a very aggressive lawyer fighting on behalf of timberlake. Then on August 9th, the court date was adjourned, which leads us back to my TikTok over Labor Day weekend. Now, despite all those legal issues, Timberlake continued his tour. The Forget Tomorrow World Tour. That's an appropriate name now, isn't it? I predicted at that time in June that we were not going to get a Justin Timberlake statement. We weren't going to get some big mea culpa. He was going to go out on stage at the next concert in the safety and surroundings of his fans. We've been together through ups and downs and rights technique. And I don't like to pat myself on the back too often, but you know what I called it. And that's exactly what happened. Timberlake's tour is set to continue with the European leg through South September 28th. That's when he's scheduled to perform at the Prudential center in New Jersey. Justin Timberlake has had a rough past couple of years. We all remember the run up to Britney Spears memoir that was released last year. It was the Woman in Me. I didn't read it, I listened to it. But in that book she aired all the dirty laundry of their relationship that lasted from 1999 to 2002. She talked about the abortion that she underwent, how she was in the bathroom while Justin was playing the guitar when she was suffering. She also mentioned that Timberlake cheated on her, but she was the one blamed for cheating on him. And also that Timberlake contributed to the media's portrayal of Spears as this, quote, harlot who'd broken the heart of America's golden boy. It really is a heartbreaking memoir. The book was bestselling. Good for Her. And Timberlake started canceling some gigs early in the year because of it. But we've seen tactical plays from Timberlake. But the long term, the long play is damage control. It's reputation damage control. Because things have been trailing him and a lot of it has to do with his behavior and his character. He was arrested one day after Father's Day where he had posted this tribute to Jessica Biel and describing the kids as the two greatest gifts of his life. He was on the road, he was on his own. And he was likely doing maybe some personal damage control right there. But he said, I'll always be there for you through peaks and valleys, to lift you up and show you how high you can take this life and pick you up when you fall. And that's what he wrote on Instagram to his wife when she falls. Excuse me. If you remember, in 2019, Timberlake had to issue a public apology to Beal again after he was photographed getting cozy with a co star, Alicia Wainwright, I've never heard of her name again. But she was photographed with him where he was holding her hand in his public apology. He said it was a, quote, strong lapse in judgment. So there's already a narrative out there about Justin Timberlake. This DWI does not help. This is the approach that I think Justin Timberlake's team is taking to manage this dwi. So it involves likely agent, some handlers, some maybe reputation management handlers. And the lawyer the play won is that Timberlake immediately returned to the stage. We saw that his choice to address directly to the fans. It's a classic PR strategy. It's a way for him to control the narrative before it spirals completely out of control. Because those stories, and he knew that people would post him on social media. The press picks it up and now you have new SEO out there that's pushing down the negative stories, down SEO. And the new SEO is him at the concert and reminding people that he's in concert. Sell tickets, everyone. The second play just appealing to the fans, appealing to their emotional investment. People have been with this guy since NSync. There are also people who have invested in tickets and they want to like Justin Timberlake. So he brought all this positive energy into these live performances because he wants to rehabilitate. And another play was his decision to continue the tour, which was logical but also smart because it keeps him out of the headlines, but keeps people posting and talking about him on social media. And that tour continues. But what is the connection? Something that I said in my social media post over this weekend is a tactic that's often used in PR crisis damage control, and that is timing. I said what Justin and Jessica were doing was preemptive damage control for what's coming out with Justin Timberlake and the dwi. Because in this next hearing, we may find out who was with Justin Timberlake. We may find out a little bit more of the dirt. There is a reason why Jessica Biel Justin Timberlake's wife wanted to show that Justin Timberlake is a family and that she is devoted to family. Perhaps because there's going to be a threat against the reputation of Justin Timberlake as a family man. And what that revelation is might likely, based on the behavior here, align with a lot of the things that Britney Spears said in her memoir. So look at it like this. Just like a magician uses timing and misdirection to perform a trick. Think of the cups and balls trick, where they're moving around the cups and the balls. Look at the ball, where's the ball? Where's the ball? Where the audience, they're focused on the hands going back and forth, where the real magic is happening elsewhere because a magician just cups a ball. Celebrities use the same techniques in their world of prison counter moves. When a celebrity's. When a celebrity is facing negative press, they might carefully time a positive news story or a charitable act, or bring out a child no one's ever seen before to draw away from the controversy. That's why if you Google this story, you're going to see the verbiage is so similar in all of them. Rare outing. Rare outing. It's a reminder that Justin and Jessica never do this. It's so rare. But there is a reason why we're at the US Open. We might hear soon that Silas, nine year old Silas loves tennis. Who knows whatever it is. But that was a cups and balls trick. That was a trick to serve as misdirection. That appearance was there to pull public focus away from the potentially negative situation that's coming for Justin Timberlake. And so that we see him in a more favorable light, he wants to control the narrative through that timing and misdirection. Why? Because the new court date is September 13th. And again, I don't pat myself, but I called it. I didn't Google. I just knew in my head, I went, wait a minute, that arrest happened in New York. There's gotta be something else happen in New York. It's gotta be something. I didn't want to go out and assume it was with the case because I really did not know. But I knew something was going to drop and that's what it was. Now, did it work? Well, that's up to you to decide and ultimately for the public to decide. The effectiveness of these tactics often hinges on how well the timing and misdirection align with the public sentiment. If done skillfully, the audience might never even realize they've been misdirected. And that allows a celebrity to regain control of the narrative. However, if the misdirection feels too obvious or poorly timed or people are going to call you out on social media, it can backfire. And that leads to even more scrutiny and more stories in the press. So in the end, the success of these strategies depend on how seamlessly they are executed and how perceptive the public is to the sleight of hand at play. Now, as I said in the beginning, I like to look for strategic elements that you can pull from in your own life. Just like a celebrity or a magician, timing and misdirection can guide the attention of others where you want it to go. Now, I'm not here to reveal the dark arts so you can go out and do it yourself. I'm more about decoding it, exposing what these tricks are so that you aren't taken advantage of, so you can control the narrative. I think it's important to maintain your own reputation, and how you do that is maintaining how you might behave, act or respond, whether it's in your personal life or professional life too, or your company. So remember, understand how to redirect focus and timing in actions. It influences how other people perceive you. You can turn a potentially negative into a positive. You can do this in your personal relationships to help just maintain control. So it could be with your partner, could be with your kids, it could be with your parents. That's the takeaway for this episode in pr. Timing and transparency, really, they're everything. Now in good pr, you just gotta come out with the information, you gotta be transparent about it. You gotta face the issue head on. And then you just connect with your stakeholder, whoever it is, and just use what you have to reshape the narrative in your favor, which is to connect and have that good relationship and restore trust. But what we're seeing here is that celebrities are doing it for the purpose of misdirection, which causes a breakdown in trust. Now that's it for this week's episode of the PR Breakdown with me, your host, Molly McPherson. I'm thrilled to be back with this new format and I sincerely hope that you will stay with me for the ride. Now don't forget, if you're eager to dive even deeper into these stories, head on over to my patreon patreon.com mollymcpherson or just go to patreon.com and type my name in the search bar there. I like to explore the finer details and behind the scenes maneuvers that often stay out of the headline. Plus, I regularly host live sessions with my community of like minded PR strategists, not necessarily PR pros. People who do this by day, people who are really into this type of strategy, they love to decode it right along with me. You can let me know the topics that you'd like to cover on Patreon or here on the podcast because we want to continue all these conversations together. Now. I'll be back every Wednesday with the PR breakdown for the week. If you found this episode insightful, make sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with anyone who's obsessed with PR strategies and crisis communication, as we all are. You can also follow me across social media channels where I post daily updates on the latest PR moves and stunts. You can also find my bi monthly articles on Forbes.com that's where I dive a little bit deeper. More on the traditional approach to PR and crisis communication and everything, as always, is listed in the show notes. Thanks for listening everyone. Thanks for coming back and hopefully thanks for staying until next week's big story. Bye for now.