Carol Ames investigated the representation of celebrity PR in popular culture, focusing on the role of image consultant for the celebrity in crisis. Ames found that typically, following a celebrity transgression, publicists issue a brief statement on behalf of the client with an apology; encourage the client to disappear briefly from private life to address ‘personal’ issues; manage a re-entry into public life often in association with charity work; and then – hopefully – allow the client to relaunch their successful career. The trajectory of Lindsay Lohan’s career, a downward spiral from successful child star to ‘toxic celebrity’ (Redmond 2014: 63), follows this pattern. As Ames writes: ‘Years of partying, DUIs, probation, and an arrest for shoplifting The celebrity image makeover have been punctuated by press statements issued by a publicist usually saying that Lohan is entering rehab and requests privacy while she works on her personal problems’ (2011: 96).
Analyse the construction of celebrity on the PR agency and gossip websites listed at the end of this chapter or in national newspapers, celebrity magazines such as Who Weekly, OK! and Hello. What are the values which underpin celebrity ‘news’ stories and client management? Do these differ from the apparent ‘self-presentation’ of celebrities via social media, especially platforms such as Twitter and Instagram? And what part does transgression play as part of the celebrity narrative?
