Patridge’s scandalous photos first leaked during the month of March, the same month that the new season of “The Hills” premiered. Many people have openly commented on this fact and questioned whether or not this was a coincidence. Originally there was speculation that the photos were intended as a test shoot for Playboy, however, Patridge has recently denied this rumor. According to E!, Patridge said, “I took these photos years ago when I was just out of high school and beginning to model…I was young and very trusting of others and I didn’t know to protect myself. It is a lesson learned, for myself, and hopefully for the young girls who look up to me.” She has also stated that while the photos were never intended to be seen by the public eye, she is not ashamed of them. 

Last week, another set of nude photos of the actress was released. The photos are said to have been taken more recently. This second round of photos has only increased speculation that Patridge herself is leaking the photos. Others believe that Patridge only leaked the second set, possibly because she was not satisfied by her appearance in the older pictures.

From a publicist’s perspective, I think it was smart for Patridge’s PR team to issue a public statement accepting responsibility while also positioning her as a victim of the cruel modeling industry.  Like former Miss America Vanessa Williams, who overcame a devastating scandal involving nude photos, she could potentially recover from the scandal and regain her respectability. The most recent round of images, however, raises serious questions about her credibility. Is she really a victim, or is she simply trying to garner more publicity in the hopes of promoting her career? Thus far, she has not made it clear what her intentions truly are, and until she does, her reputation will remain in limbo.

According to People, Jay Leno issued an apology on Tuesday for his remarks to actor Ryan Phillippe during a recent “Tonight Show” airing.  Phillippe appeared on the show as a part of the promotional media rounds for his new film, “Stop-Loss.”  Leno made a reference to Phillippe’s early role as a gay character on a popular soap opera. He then proceeded to say to the actor, “Can you give me, like – say that camera is your gay lover…Can you give me your ‘gayest look?’” Phillippe was taken aback and quickly replied, “Wow, that is so something I don’t want to do.” 

It didn’t take long for individual gay activists and gay rights groups such as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to criticize Leno’s remarks.  GLAAD issued a statement of support for Phillippe’s personal choice to not play along with the offensive request on the show.  Jeff Whitty, “Avenue Q” playwright, also joined the fray with his blog saying, “Would you ask a guest to make their ‘blackest face?’  Their ‘Jewiest face?’”  The blog inspired a new Web site, My Gayest Look, where users posted similar pictures of Leno.

Leno’s recent apology was short and to the point. Leno was quoted by People, saying, “In talking about Ryan’s first role, I realize that what I said came out wrong…I certainly didn’t mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize.”

 Addressing the problem and issuing a statement of apology in a timely manner is always a good idea, however, in Leno’s case, his sincerity seems questionable. I think a more detailed explanation is needed in order for the public to fully understand what his intentions were. Were his words simply misunderstood or did he just slip up? Leno was already criticized earlier this year during the writers’ strike for not paying his production crew like his late-night show competitor David Letterman did. Leno will definitely need to work on his image in the near future to restore his likeable persona. He needs to make it perfectly clear that he supports the gay community and simply had a lapse of judgment. Perhaps a self-deprecating monologue that pokes fun of himself for the mistake should be considered.

“Grey’s Anatomy” star, Justin Chambers, may be returning to the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA Medical Center after his recent odd behavior at the Village Pub in Palm Springs, Calif. Yesterday, Chambers chose to go public with the sleeping disorder that has plagued him for some time. The actor told People “It’s a biological sleep disorder. Your mind keeps racing, and your body is tired. It wants to go to sleep, but it can’t.” 

The primetime star checked himself into the UCLA Medical Center in January to receive help for his condition. Chambers had reportedly not been able to sleep for more than a couple of hours a week. It’s no wonder, with his balancing a major acting career, being a husband and a father of five. The actor had hoped that his visit would not receive public attention, however, the fact that his visit closely coincided with Britney Spears’ trip to the psych ward in the same center focused more attention on his illness.

According to an upcoming article in Star magazine, Chambers was spotted behaving strangely in a local Palm Springs bar just 26 days after being treated. An eyewitness said that people thought the actor was drunk, but when the bartender was asked what he was drinking, he responded that he had only consumed non-alcoholic beer. Another onlooker described the situation for the magazine, saying, “He was acting like he was on drugs, like some kind of downers. His eyes were glazed over. He slurred his words and staggered when he tried to walk.” He also was heard suddenly shouting about how he was a good father. Towards the end of the evening Chambers was seen hitting on a waitress and then physically slapping money out of her hand after she ignored his advances.

After this public scene, it would be wise for Chambers to issue another statement regarding the extent of his condition and how it may have affected his behavior in this particular instance. With the death of Heath Ledger still fresh in the public’s minds, I think that there would be a great amount of support for him to continue to take steps toward treating his condition. Since sleep disorders or less understood and publicized than eating and other psychological disorders, it would also be advisable for the actor to consider aligning himself with an organization that works with sleeping conditions such as the American Sleep Association or the American Academy of Sleep Medicine in order to heighten awareness and understanding of this problem.

On Sunday August 26, 2007, Nike Bollea, also known publicly as Nick Hogan, was involved in car accident near his home in Florida. According to People, Bollea’s Toyota Supra (some reports say it was a Dodge Viper) was totaled after it hit a palm tree at a high speed. While Bollea, the driver, only suffered minor injuries and was soon released from the hospital, his friend and passenger, John Graziano, suffered major physical trauma that will affect his ability to function indefinitely.  Graziano, who was not wearing a seatbelt, received multiple head injuries and is expected to need lifelong care at a nursing home.  According to reports, “Graziano will pretty much be a vegetable for the rest of his life.” 

Early in November 2007, Bollea’s driver’s license was suspended.  In addition to charging Bollea with reckless driving, officials also cited Bollea for “using a motor vehicle in commission of a felony.” He allegedly had a blood alcohol of 0.2%, well above the legal limit in Florida for drivers under 21.

As with most celebrity stories, the Nick Bollea accident received massive coverage in the mainstream media.  The story was covered on national broadcast and print media as well as on websites and in publications that follow celebrity news.  The mainstream coverage was mostly objective and focused on Bollea’s past history and on Graziano’s injuries.  A number of stories also featured the arrival of Bollea’s celebrity father, Hulk Hogan on the scene.  As the news died down, media such as People and E! Online kept up with the story.  Early stories in the mainstream sources quoted law enforcement, Bollea’s lawyer, and statements issued by his parents.  Subsequent stories included interviews with Hulk Hogan and expressed his opinions about the events. 

The celebrity blogs, such as PerezHilton and Dlisted stayed up to date on the accident story as it developed. PerezHilton in particular posted information or statements issued by the Hogan family quickly after it was released.  Blog coverage tended to be highly critical of Bollea and his family, with many pointing out that Hogan was defending his son when he should have expressed more concern for Graziano’s recovery. 

 The mainstream media sources maintained more of an objective view, while the blogs tended to infuse more of their personal opinions on the incident. Mainstream sources covered the event and its outcome, however, the blogs tore into the Hogan family and their reasons for defending Bollea’s actions.  Interestingly, the mainstream media has adopted blogs as an information source in stories of this type.  WTSP-TV Channel 10 in Tampa, Fla., encouraged viewers to post blogs on their website and quoted several of the blogs on the air.  Most mainstream publications wrote traditional news headlines and leads about the event that kept to the facts, while others used more colorful headlines such as “Nick Hogan’s Car Crash Passenger Will Be a Vegetable for the Rest of His Life – This could turn very ugly for Nick.” 

The Hogan family did several things right in the beginning.  The family issued a statement immediately in support of their son and expressed concern for Graziano. Then, when Bollea initially appeared before the media, he allowed his lawyer to make the statement.  The lawyer did not answer many questions, but asked the media to let the facts come out.  Both Bollea and his sister posted prayer requests for Graziano on their Myspace sites. 

The Hogans are no strangers to publicity, but in this case they made several key mistakes.  Hulk Hogan spent a great deal of time in the media defending his son and trying to indicate that he was somehow not responsible for the accident, blaming wet roads and other factors.  He was also critical of the media for its coverage. In addition, it was pointed out frequently that Graziano was not wearing a seatbelt.  To many this appeared to be an effort to deflect some of the blame from Bollea.

Rather than being so defensive, the family should have chastised Bollea for drinking and driving and for street racing and assured the public that they would make sure that he would take full responsibility for his actions.  The family should also have spent more time expressing concern for the gravity of Graziano’s injuries and should still be working publicly to raise money for his care and rehabilitation.  Finally, the Hogan family’s image would benefit from a public relations effort that includes participating in programs that communicate the devastating effects of driving and drinking and the hazards of street racing.  

My mainstream media sources for this post were People, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, E! News, WTSP-TV Channel 10, and TMZ.  My blog sources for this post were PerezHilton, Dlisted, The Celebrity Blog, Softpedia and Top Celebrity Blog.

Following Lindsey Lohan’sstints in rehab and several box office bombs, the now infamous actress chose tolay low and out of the public eye for a short period of time. Lohan managed tomaintain her new, innocent image for a while, but after a few incidents whenshe was caught on camera drinking alcohol and falling back into her partyingways, her fresh reputation was already taking a hit.

Lohan shocked everyonerecently with her nude photo spread in New York Magazine in which she portrayed the legendary Marilyn Monroe. The actresscertainly could use a jumpstart to her career, but her decision to participatein the photo shoot has been questioned by many. Was is it wise for Lohan, whohas been in and out of rehab due to drug and alcohol addiction, to portray thetroubled Monroe who died of an overdose just six weeks after the famous photoswere taken?

While I personally objectto using a nude layout to bring her back, I can see the benefits to it. First,she is linking herself to an iconic female in Hollywood history. Lohan has saidthat she also saw this as a beautiful form of artistic expression. She does notfeel that the photos were taken in a distasteful manner at all. Finally, Lohanneeded to get her name back into the spotlight in order to open herself up fornew work opportunities. She is obviously hoping that the photos will serve as astepping-stone to regain her once blossoming film career.

Now that the initial shockhas worn off, the spread is considered a hit. New York Magazine has received an enormous amount ofattention. The magazine’s Web site received so many visitors that it actuallycollapsed under the pressure caused by the number of hits it was receiving. Thesuccess has not been overlooked. According to the New York Post, “Hugh Hefner has offered the young star thechance to recreate Monroe’s famed nude swim from the unfinished film“Something’s Got To Give.”

While I understand theappeal of the first Monroe photo opportunity to the star, I think that it wouldbe a mistake to accept Hefner’s offer. One nude shoot can be seen as artistic,but doing a second for a notorious nude magazine could be seen as trashy.Lohan’s future image could be damaged even further if she does not carefullyconsider the consequences of a second reenactment. 

It’s been a while since Elizabeth Hurley has been in the spotlight; however, I don’t think that the attention she has recently received was quite what she was hoping for.  According to Page Six, Hurley¹s former maid has accused her and husband, Arun Nayar, of paying significantly below minimum wage for her services. Violet D’Souza, who is originally from India, claims that the couple paid her “as little as $2.33 an hour for working as many as 70 hours a week.”  This begs the question, what reason could this multi-millionaire couple possibly have for paying so far below the legal minimum wage of $10.71 an hour in Britain? A settlement was reached before they could officially go to court.

In the past, Hurley has often been portrayed as the victim. Hurley received a great deal of sympathy from the public and the press after long-time love interest Hugh Grant was found in a comprising position with another woman in Hollywood.  Then, her baby’s biological father, Stephen Bing, left her.  Suddenly, Hurley could be the one in the glare of the spotlight if her publicist doesn’t get to work.

Hurley’s publicist should be doing major damage control to save the actress’ image before it can become too tarnished, but so far, there have been no public statements released regarding the accusations. Hurley’s lawyer has refused to comment. Thus far the news media as not turned this into a major story, however, someone representing the actress needs to speak to the public as soon as possible before this becomes an explosive issue. A statement of apology would not be a bad idea.

The issue of underpaying migrant workers and those from developing countries is a heated one that has created public relations nightmares for numerous public figures. Kathie Lee Gifford, Jaclyn Smith and Michael Jordan are just a few celebrities who received bad press when it was discovered that the clothing for their endorsed labels was produced in sweatshops in developing countries.  Most recently, presidential candidate Mitt Romney had to defend himself against allegations that he hired illegal immigrants to work in home. It will most likely take some work to ensure that Hurley’s image does not sustain long-term damage and to assure the public that it will not be a recurring mistake. 

Miley Cyrus and her Hannah Montana persona have become an idol and role model for this generation of children. Over the past couple of years, her popularity has skyrocketed due to the success of her television show, music career, product lines and now a movie that has become a mega-hit due to the support of her extensive fan base.

According to People Magazine, Miley’s 3-D film, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, has recently created a controversy centered on a scene in the movie in which Miley and her father were not wearing their seat belts on the way to a concert tour rehearsal.  Consumer Reports’ editors stated that they brought the scene to the public’s attention because of the large percentage of car-related deaths each year that involve people not wearing their seat belts.

Consumer Reports shared their thoughts saying, “It seems to us that Miley, her father, and Disney had a perfect opportunity to help influence teens and counteract—rather than encourage—this trend. Then again, as Hannah herself sings, ‘Everybody makes mistakes.’ ” So far, Billy Ray Cyrus has responded by issuing a statement saying that they “got caught up in the moment of filming” and that “seat belt safety is extremely important.”

It must be an interesting job being the publicist of this father, daughter pair.  Any time someone is in the spotlight as much as they are, people are going to find things to take issue with. I think that it was a smart move to have Cyrus issue a statement quickly admitting that a mistake had been made, while also reassuring the public that seat belt safety was important to them.  An apologetic statement of this type is always a key move in regaining the public’s support and trust when a mistake has obviously been made and is documented by the media. Although this recent controversy may prove to be a slight setback in Miley’s career, I am convinced that she will quickly rebound and continue to be the new “tween queen.”  

As we all know, the recent death of the rising star Heath Ledger shook the entertainment industry. His portrayal of the Joker in the up and coming Batman sequel The Dark Knight has been much anticipated and was already beginning to receive rave reviews. In October, Warner Bros. launched an Internet campaign for the film, which released teasers onto the film’s site for the fans to find and create further buzz for the blockbuster.

The question is should this campaign continue to run while the world is still in shock of the starring actor’s death? From the studio publicist’s perspective, they have already invested heavily in the creative campaign and therefore it would be costly and require a significant amount of time as well. Secondly, they have to take into consideration the potential sensitive feelings of Ledger’s fans and the public at large.

I would think that Ledger’s publicist would encourage the continuation of the campaign. I certainly would. It would be a shame for all of his work to be downplayed by discontinuing the campaign to hype his character and the film itself. I thought that their idea to place a black ribbon on the film’s website http://whysoserious.com/ was an appropriate form of recognition to the star’s passing while still continuing with the campaign. Now the world just has to wait until this summer to see Ledger’s final role.