If you haven’t heard anything about actor Charlie Sheen, I applaud you. That means you know how to effectively tune out the “noise” the media tends to bring in order to increase its ratings.
Like it or not, Charlie Sheen has gotten tons of publicity lately—some say for the wrong reasons but, nonetheless, he is a media darling in a weird kind or way.
Even a good publicist like Stan Rosenfield couldn’t put the brakes on Sheen so he did what any good and respectable Publicist would do—he resigned.
Now one might argue that negative publicity can have a damaging affect on your reputation and yes, that’s true. But if you’re a celebrity like Sheen, Lindsay Lohan or Brittany Spears—it’s as if you get a “free pass” because we, as a society, have become a glutton for wanting to get the “dirt” on people. We want to know the secrets. We thrive on knowing the so-called reality of other peoples’ lives. Why do you think reality shows are as popular as they are?
Someone once asked me if bad publicity was better than no publicity at all. Here’s what I say: Bad publicity has people talking about you. Bad publicity for authors (in a book review) piques curiousity and may, in fact, increase book sales. Yes, bad publicity puts your name out there—but a negative impression is hard to shake.
I tried as much as I could to get away, but you know how Twitter is. And in the end, I’m not thinking it’s done him a lot of good. He lost his job, people are making fun of every statement he’s made, and he may never work again except for extreme people; after all, reality shows are in vogue. At least he’s rich; I guess that’s what it takes to get away with such behavior.
Mitch,
You’re right. Being a celebrity has advantages not afforded to the common, regular folks. The average person could not get away with the shenanigans that Sheen has pulled. I also think the media has to share the blame for giving him the spotlight to act a fool. They wouldn’t do that for a “nobody.”