The Rest Is PR

This week, Jacki and Lyle are discussing a story that has dominated the news in the U.S. and all over the world - allegations levelled at Jay-Z that, along with Sean 'Diddy' Combs, he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl at a VMA afterparty in 2000. In an incendiary and impassioned statement released earlier this week, Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, dismissed the legal action taking by U.S. lawyer Tony Buzbee as a 'blackmail attempt'. Combs, who rose to fame as P Diddy and is currently in jail awaiting trial after being charged in September with sex-trafficking and other offences, has also denied the latest allegations. Jacki and Lyle analyse Jay-Z's statement in depth, with Jacki outlining that parallels can indeed be drawn between Carter's assertive response to these allegations and the statement released by Gregg Wallace over Instagram in the wake of allegations against him. In both cases, Jacki says, the accused should have kept their council and remained silent while taking advice on how to proceed. Jacki and Lyle are both keen to emphasise that they don't consider anyone guilty or innocent in these case at this stage as investigations need to take place, and Carter himself has a right of reply on the lawsuit filed against him. However, they also agree that someone's response in the face of these allegations does draw increased scrutiny and, by extension, suspicion surrounding their involvement. Lyle points to Jay-Z including his background - particularly referencing his rise from the project in Brooklyn to worldwide success - as an unusual step to have taken from a PR perspective considering this is a point he has used throughout his career as part of a positive PR campaign. Jacki also analyses whether the statement does, in fact, at any point deny Jay-Z's involvement in the alleged crimes, before both Lyle and Jacki also speculate as to whether Carter even wrote the statement himself! Finally, Jacki speculates that someone may well have now spoken to Jay-Z about his strategy moving forward given his silence over the last 72 hours, while she also points to speculation surrounding Jennifer Lopez being the unnamed female celebrity was in the room at the time of the alleged assault, and how Lopez herself has employed a measured response to these speculations by not responding to them in any way.TW: this episode contains references to details that some listeners may find distressing, and listener discretion is advised.Artwork & music by Lyle FultonGet in touch via [email protected] information at www.therestispr.comFollow us on Twitter - @TheRestIsPR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Jacki and Lyle discuss the latest developments in the Gregg Wallace scandal. Wallace, who last week 'stepped aside' from his presenting duties on popular cooking programme Masterchef after a BBC News investigation revealed a string of allegations of inappropriate sexual comments and inappropriate behaviour against him, released a statement on Sunday where he hit back at the allegations, saying they had come from a 'handful of middle-class women of a certain age'. He apologised the following day, stating that he 'wasn't in a good head space' when he posted the statement. Fresh allegations have since emerged, with Melanie Sykes claiming an encounter with Wallace made her quit the TV industry, his former ghostwriter Shannon Kyle claiming he made 'revolting' and 'sickening' sexualised suggestions to her and touched her inappropriately, and other woman coming forward with their own allegations of Wallace having toucher or groped them during various altercations. Downing Street also responded to Wallace's statement on Sunday by stating that they found his comments to be 'inappropriate and misogynistic', and the BBC has sinced pulled its Masterchef Christmas specials as a result of the ongoing allegations against him. Jacki and Lyle get straight to it this week, with Jacki referencing the advice she offered during last week's episode as an example to Wallace and anyone else embroiled in a scandal such as this, later lamenting the fact that Wallace did the complete opposite of this by broadcasting not one but two statements within 24 hours of each other earlier this week. Jacki also outlines how dangerous it is that Wallace was allowed to get away with this sort of behaviour for as long as he did, before Lyle makes an impassioned point about people who defend Wallace by attacking what many refer to as 'woke' culture and commentary. He outlines that these individuals need to stop burying their heads in the sand and positing the belief that these circumstances are in any way 'new' or due to an increasingly 'woke' population, but that they have in fact been occurring for decades and it is only now that the victims of such behaviour feel confident and supported enough to speak out. Jacki and Lyle revel in being referred to as 'the youth of today' in what is a highly charged episode!Artwork & music by Lyle FultonGet in touch via [email protected] information at www.therestispr.comFollow us on Twitter - @TheRestIsPR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Jacki and Lyle respond to the disturbing allegations surrounding Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace. Wallace, who the show's production company Banijay UK say has 'stepped away' from presenting the programme pending an investigation, received a letter from BBC News on Tuesday setting out allegations of inappropriate sexual comments by 13 people who worked with him across a range of shows over a 17-year period. Since these allegations were put to Wallace's representatives, Kirsty Wark, presenter of BBC Newsnight and former Celebrity MasterChef contestant in 2011, said Wallace had told 'sexualised' jokes during filming of the programme. Jacki and Lyle discuss the story itself, with both convinced that Wallace has in fact been suspended from presenting the programme despite the public story being that he has stepped away of his own accord. Jacki outlines what her advice would be if she was Wallace's PR, with a fairly immediate dressing down of the presenter being first on the agenda before advising he stop all public engagements and make no comment until all allegations have been made public, with Lyle agreeing this would ultimately avoid the need for repeat apologies and statements. Comparisons are drawn between Wallace's ongoing involvement in this scandal, and the likes of Phillip Schofield and Jermaine Jenas. The latter was also a BBC employee at the time of his particular issue, and both were decisive in how they dealt with their respective crises, making public statements that were apologetic, authentic, and immediate. Jacki discusses other examples where this messaging has been far less effective, such as the strategy conducted by comedian and former Strictly contestant Seann Walsh, who elected to try and make light of his cheating scandal at a stand-up gig, and was taking to task brutally by our very own Jacki Vause! The BBC and Banijay UK also come under fire from our hosts, who both agree the TV broadcaster and production company both have a duty of care to those accusing Wallace of using inappropriate sexual language, and to Wallace himself as he looks to navigate the coming days and weeks in the aftermath of this news story. Lyle and Jacki both comment that the BBC and Banijay UK have played with fire by allowing Wallace to get away with behaviour like this for the last 6 years, and that serious questions will now be asked as this investigation begins.Artwork & music by Lyle FultonGet in touch via [email protected] information at www.therestispr.comFollow us on Twitter - @TheRestIsPR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Jacki and Lyle discuss just how effective a tool reality TV can be when it comes to celebrities and public figures getting their message out there. This comes as another group of celebrities enter the jungle for this year's edition of 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!', with the likes of Coleen Rooney, Tulisa Contostavlos of N-Dubz, Danny Jones of McFly, former boxer Barry McGuigan and influencer and podcaster GK Barry flying out to Australia for the show. Jacki and Lyle focus primarily on Coleen's involvement in the show, with speculation rife about what she will reveal regarding the 'Wagatha Christie' scandal involving Rebekah Vardy. Jacki mentions recent examples of high profile public figures who have entered the jungle to convey their message, including former UKIP and current Reform leader Nigel Farage, who in many ways surprised certain audience members with his performance on the show, and former Health Secretary (including during the Covid outbreak) Matt Hancock, who Lyle in particular is not a fan of, believing he performed dreadfully in the jungle. Lyle and Jacki discuss the relative risks of appearing on the likes of I'm A Celebrity, with Lyle stating that Farage's risk was relatively low as public opinion of him was so divisive, and that as a result, for a short time at least, his appearance generally had a positive impact on his profile. Jacki mentions the example of Fred Sirieix as a counter to this, given that he went into the jungle with a positive reputation on the whole, but his performance didn't translate very well to some viewers, with Lyle outlining that for people in his position the risk of appearing on shows like this when it comes to profile and reputation can be considered relatively high. There is time to discuss which reality TV show our hosts would one day like to appear on if they could, with Lyle stating he would love to take part in Strictly Come Dancing should his profile rise high enough! Artwork & music by Lyle FultonGet in touch via [email protected] information at www.therestispr.comFollow us on Twitter - @TheRestIsPR Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.