O.J. in Illegal “Cell” Thursday, September 20, 2007

Filed under: News, TMZ, african american, celebrity, entertainment, gossip, legal, mediatakeout.com, o.j. simpson — ilovemypublicist @

           

Don’t take a picture of O.J. Simpson with your cell phone if you work in a courtroom!

TMZ has obtained a letter written to the Juice, sent in care of his lawyers, apologizing for the actions of one of its “contract employees.” In the letter, dated today, the Executive Office of the Clark County Courts says a court reporter took a cell phone picture of Simpson as he left his court hearing yesterday.

The executive called the behavior “abhorrent” and told Simpson and his attorneys it “would not be tolerated.”

The letter also says that the issue has been “addressed” with the employee, and the picture has been deleted from the cell phone.

The unemployment line forms to the left.

Prescription: Whomever took this photo should have pictured himself making a lot of money and not getting caught.

Read the letter here: http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0920_simpson_apology.pdf

 

Was it media God or HUSBAND, Slapped Preacher Juanita Bynum? Thursday, August 23, 2007

Filed under: Juanta Bynum, Music, News, abuse, african american, celebrity, entertainment, legal, media, public relations, publicist, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

     

Photo Credit: Google Images/ Rich Addicks/AJC

 

Juanita Bynum, a preacher whose fiery and frank sermons about women’s empowerment have won her a national following, was attacked by her husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday morning, police said.

Bynum and her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, had met up at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to try to reconcile, Atlanta police said. But while at the parking lot about 4 a.m., the two got into a physical fight until a bellman at the hotel pulled Bynum’s husband off her, Officer Ronald Campbell said.

“She was bruised up and battered,” Campbell said. “She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso.”

The husband, who is also a preacher, left the scene. No charges have been filed against him, according to police.

Prescription: Every action has a reaction. Ms. Bynum is a public figure and there are really two options as to how she can handle this situation. She can either retreat and try not to comment because this story will eventually fade away Or, after the dust and emotions settle it might be a good time to chat with a publicist about how to use this public incident to leverage her divorce case, raise her public profile, elevate her platform for women’s empowerment and drive sales of her books and cd’s.

We’ll have to see how this prays out.

Like a rapper who goes to jail, does this incident give Ms. Bynum more credibility?Read the story here:http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/08/22/bynum_0823.html

 

Foxy Brown Joins Paris Hilton Jail Tour, Baby in her Bag Thursday, August 23, 2007

Filed under: Foxy Brown, Music, News, african american, celebrity, entertainment, hip hop, legal, media, public relations, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

    It’s the hottest ticket in town. A front row seat in the media pit to watch celebrities like Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell and Nicole Richie go to jail. Get your tickets now for the Foxy Brown show. Clubbing someone with a Blackberry, driving with a few drinks in ya, or even a few drugs in your system is hardly enough to get quality media attention anymore. 

An heiress in handcuffs, a supermodel sweeping trash. Even Nicole Richie tried to top them all by getting pregnant with a ”little Richie” after her “eating disorder”. But no celebrity can top going deaf and loosing your hearing…for a little while….I said, no celebrity can top LOSING YOUR HEARING, assault, getting married and getting pregnant as you go off to jail.  

Now Foxy did get some media attention when she lost her hearing but it was mostly from hip hop and music press.  The story didn’t really move the dial with mainstream media. Until now.

Foxy’s lawyer sums up today’s prescription for spin with a great quote that  breaks down all the elements one might need to get the media’s attention if you are trying to promote a new project. He said “… Brown is three months’ pregnant….(she) has turned her life around with her pregnancy, wedding plans and deals for a new album and reality television show.”   His quote sums up the recipe for a Ratings Pie and juicy content for the Foxy Brown reality show.  And, apparently it tastes really good.  Going to jail can be now be considered part of one’s PR strategy.  According to google news there are 827 new stories reporting on this including CNN. 

When you hear about a celebrity heading to jail does it make you more or less interested in them? 

Read the story here:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/22/people.foxybrown.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

 

R. Kelly Hires the “White” Johnnie Cochran? Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Filed under: Business, News, R & B, african american, entertainment, hip hop, legal, media, public relations, publicist, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

            

When big shots get in trouble in Chicago, often as not, they call Ed Genson.

Some call him a magician in the courtroom. Others say a better word might be barracuda.

Either way, the 61-year-old Genson has emerged as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the city, and maybe the best known.

Whether it’s Grammy-winning R&B singer R. Kelly or friends and aides to scandal-plagued former Gov. George Ryan, the high and mighty regularly seek out Genson when they’re trying to save their careers and avoid jail.

Attorneys say his face at the defense table makes prosecutors nervous. He doesn’t always beat them. But they always know they’re in for a fight.
A judge ruled Tuesday (August 21) that the videotape in the R. Kelly child pornography trial can be shown in full when the proceedings begin this September. Cook County Circuit Judge Vince Gaughan said the tape was key evidence in the prosecutors’ case, rebutting the argument by Kelly’s lawyers that the tape would unfairly bias the jury against him.

Additionally, the prosecution wants to bring in an expert to compare vein patterns in R. Kelly’s hands with the hands of the man in the tape, to prove he is indeed Kelly. The defense decried this motion as faulty science, not comparable to matching fingerprints. The judge has postponed a ruling on whether the veins argument will be allowed in court.

Prescription: Doesn’t this case bring back memories of Johnnie Cochran and OJ? Impossible odds and an attorney with unbreakable confidence.  Sometimes the  best PR strategy is to take the spotlight off the star and shine it on the back-up singers. Or, in this case Ed Genson.  Seems R. Kelly is not going to bump and grind his way out of a conviction. He’s lining up the best people for a great show we all plan to watch.

 If the veins don’t match, this case could be a wrap!

I think R. Kelly is going to get off. What do you think?

Read the full articles here:
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/05/26/news/local_illinois/af8a9824e22dde8086256d31007c813e.txt

http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/08/r_kelly_hands/