PR disasters (IYKYK) thread 5

[AtIusvue]

For Meghan and Harry, As ever and Archewell posts.

@Lunde The IG statement says absolutely nothing in defence of H or M though...

They would have done better to have just said "recollections may vary" if they couldn't resist a clapback.

Busy few weeks of shockingly negative reputational news coming at them with IG expose, dumped by NF (again), TB book coming out - no wonder they are trying to make waves - any waves in the opposite direction and are try to get ahead and ‘balance’ the noise with fleeing to Oz to serve up a smorgasbord of distracting word salad.

The nature and content of their impulsive reactions and clapbacks amuse me the most - especially as every manoeuvre they make requires everyone around them to be gagged by an NDA (wonder if this applied to the sick children at the hospital?) - so everyone is silenced but they blurt out whatever shit whenever they want. They haven’t even calculated the strategic payback of silence, dignity and keeping your own counsel - that’s because they are so intellectually and emotionally ignorant - but sadly too grandiose and delusional to know that.

I’ve wondered that more than once myself. I think she may just get a kick out of being a thorn in their side, imitating what they do because she enjoys being an irritation to them. I suspect she doesn’t really do it for any other reason. It keeps her in the public eye and annoys the RF.

I am about as shocked as Captain Renault in the movie Casablanca!

On a broader note, the re-hiring of Sunshine Sachs, the mass reporting of social media accounts, the escalation of online vitriol now makes sense as H&M knew that not only was Neflix dumping them, but also Tom Bower was on the horizon with his new book Betrayal.

As ever, I side-eye KC3 over Invictus. These individuals are veterans of His Majesty's Armed Forces as well as veterans of allied & Commonwealth forces. KC3 as Commander-in-Chief must intercede and do the needful to protect veterans from his wastrel second son.

I've always thought one of the cringiest things that Meghan has done came at the time of Prince Phillip's death.

While his funeral service was actually taking place her then mouthpiece, Omid Scobie, put out a tweet linking to a story in Harper's Bazaar that could only have come from Meghan.

“BAZAAR.com can confirm that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan contributed a custom wreath that was laid in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh at his funeral service at Windsor Castle today. A card, handwritten by Meghan herself, also accompanied the wreath.”

Who the hell publicly announces that they've sent a wreath to a funeral? And what kind of vulgarian tries to draw attention to themselves at the exact moment the deceased is being laid to rest?

She thrives off her grief generosity.

So while our then Queen was sitting alone, as Covid rules required, at the funeral service for her husband of seventy odd years, someone imagined that it was important to let the world know that the Sussexes had sent a custom wreath? Main character syndrome doesn't even cover it.

Meg and Harry are all over that IG statement. It’s effectively the same as theirs…’why are you listening to this person who’s out to get Meg n Harry….but er….we won’t offer any actual evidence to refute the claims’

Its embarrassing. Put up or shut up.

Also, from the tiny amount that I’ve read about wheelchair basketball (2 mins on google)

It says that non wheelchair users are encouraged in this sport, to be inclusive. HOWEVER, at international competition level ( which the IG is surely?) that competitors should have a lower limb disability.

IG can’t even argue back on that. Claiming PTSD is a hidden disability. Faux indignation at the suggestion that these players with PTSD shouldn’t be in this game.
Yes, it’s is a disability. But it’s not a lower limb disability that needs support of a wheelchair ffs!!!!! PTSD should not preclude them from playing WCB ….but the lack of a lower limb disability should!!

They’ve went against the ethos of the game and made it fundamentally unfair. That’s not what sport is about.

Megs hospital PR disaster.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-awkward-questions-surrounding-meghan-markles-hospital-visit/

The daily beast:

’The hospital has been clear in its captions that they value Meghan’s involvement, and clearly believes her visit benefits their program. We should take the hospital at its word.
But where the issue becomes less straightforward is in the context of Meghan’s wider public brand, which appears as chaotic as ever.
Meghan has not previously been especially associated with hospital work or healthcare as a central philanthropic focus. That does not mean she cannot engage in this field, of course, but what brand managers wouldn’t want to see here is a situation where she shows up once (as far as we know, this is her first visit) and is never seen there again.
In the past week alone, there have been several different narratives. First came reports that her lifestyle brand, As Ever, had split from Netflix because she wanted to take it in a more global direction. Then there was the announcement that she will appear at a “girls’ weekend” retreat in Australia, where guests paying thousands of dollars will be able to take photographs with her. Shortly afterwards came news that her documentary project Cookie Queens had secured distribution. And now these hospital photographs have appeared.
Is Meghan positioning herself primarily as a business entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a filmmaker, a lifestyle influencer, a former royal, or a celebrity cameo act whose presence can be monetised through paid appearances? Can she have it all!?
For audiences, it is easier when a public figure presents a clear and coherent narrative about who they are.
Underlying all of this is the broader issue that Queen Elizabeth II identified when she insisted that members of the royal family could not operate on a “half-in, half-out” basis—combining commercial activity with public service and philanthropy in the traditional royal sense. The two models can sit uneasily together. Maintaining a high public profile is essential if you are building a commercial brand, but that same publicity can complicate philanthropic work because every action is interpreted through the lens of personal promotion.’

"Attempts to question the legitimacy of competitors or diminish the experiences of those living with both physical injuries and invisible wounds such as PTSD are deeply disrespectful to the men and women the Games were created for”

Such a ridiculous statement, why do they believe people cannot question why able bodied competitors are surreptitiously put in wheelchairs to play against disabled competitors ? it’s not like Invictus ever disclosed that gameplay. They clearly wanted to keep it secret too.

I would never have suspected that went on, what else you would have to ask ! It even further undermines the Harry & Meghan games.

It sounds as though IG should split the wheelchair basketball into a couple of disability categories like they do at the Paralympics

Exactly!

I expect that they don’t have enough competitors to split into different categories …..so they’ve just lumped everyone together which is deeply unfair.

"The focus should remain where it belongs - on the courage, recovery and camaraderie of those who have served."

And this 🤨isn’t that the whole criticism of what the games has become, with Meghan in flip flops and baggy beach shorts leading a group of veterans in a parade, giving the opening speech,handing out medals, preening for the camera, using an Invictus photo of them for their Sussex Christmas card, exploiting the veterans for their moment in the spotlight.

Invictus can’t hide the truth anymore, Tom Bower is saying publicly what the general public have been saying for years since they allowed Meghan & Harry to use the games as their personal PR platform.

Did Harry himself not write in Spare about Meghan telling William to get his finger out of her face ?

Yes deflecting….basically saying don’t question us and what we are doing.

This is only going to get worse if they keep this attitude up

Ive definitely heard that before. It probably was Spare.

Hence I don’t get why they’re so rattled. It’s stuff that’s been said before….maybe with more detail.

They handled this so badly…again. It’s why 5 threads in….I never have to change the bloody title 😂

Main character syndrome indeed - especially:

”A card hand written by MM herself….” as opposed to the office of - and was it all her swirly illegible scrawl?

To put out a global press announcement that you sent a wreath and stooped to write the card - as a D list cable actress when a significant global figure had died is beyond grim.

Don’t know why she was being so disingenuous tho as only a few weeks before whilst PP was on his death bed on end of life care she thought it totally appropriate to bulldoze on with their global bombshell OW interview which trashed his family - whilst he and his family were suffering.

There’s going to be another excerpt from the Bowers book in the Sunday Times tomorrow apparently.

Happy Mother’s Day Meg

I think M&H are just doing HIHO , but on their own terms, thinking they won't be called out on it. But I think they're making a bit of a bish of it. H clearly needed high grade support in his charity ventures , and I just don't think M cares one way or another if she can keep Duchessing about to raise her profile. I think the time may have come to remove those titles but whether KC has the appetite to do so with everything else that's going on - I suspect not. However , and sadly I know this , feelings for a DC can be different to those for a sibling. I agree with @jeffgoldblum H's involvement with all his charities does warrant scrutiny. If I were KC , or even William , I might give that to a man in a grey suit to research 😃

Given how litigious Harry is, if they don't sue Tom Bower, I think it's safe to assume they can't find anything in the book- no matter how small- that they can challenge.

Definitely.