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Three gay slurs, three PR approaches |
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Written by asap
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Wednesday, 07 March 2007 |
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Three public figures from three different fields make remarks that are offensive to gays. Criticisms pour in.
But Isaiah Washington, Tim Hardaway and Ann Coulter have handled the headlines and hot lights differently.
Washington and Hardaway apologized, in their own ways, and coverage eventually tapered off.
Coulter took another approach, and her remarks, just a few days old, are still getting press. Coverage may even grow as former Sen. John Edwards, the target of her remarks, tries to use them to raise money for his presidential campaign.
“Sometimes the legs on one of these stories has a lot to do with how significantly the person being challenged responds,” said Bob Steele, Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values at the Poynter Institute. He noted that scandals can disappear when the people involved refuse to talk about them.
Here’s a look at three headline-grabbing remarks and three attempts to manage the fallout.
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ISAIAH WASHINGTON
The slur: On. Oct. 9, Washington fights on the set of “Grey’s Anatomy” with co-star Patrick Dempsey. People magazine later reports that when T.R. Knight was late to film a scene, Dempsey insisted on waiting. Washington reportedly uses the word “faggot” out of the presence of Knight, who later comes out to People magazine.
The apology: Washington initially apologizes for his behavior and “the unfortunate use of words.” Things seem fine until...
Making it worse: At the Golden Globes, Washington tells reporters, “No, I did not call T.R. a faggot.” He later apologizes for “repeating the word,” even though he denied saying it in the first place.
Rehab: Washington says days later he is going into counseling, prompting mockery from some, including, eventually, Ann Coulter.
In the news: Washington fails to keep himself out of the headlines. A Lexis-Nexis search of publications, TV transcripts, Web sites and other sources found 437 mentions of the story as of Tuesday afternoon.
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TIM HARDAWAY
The diatribe: Hardaway tells a radio show on Valentine’s Day, “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people.” The retired NBA guard adds that homosexuality “shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”
The complete reversal: “As an African-American, I know all too well the negative thoughts and feelings hatred and bigotry cause,” Hardaway says the next day, in a statement issued by his agent. In another radio interview a few days later, he says: “I don’t hate gay people.”
In the news: Though he avoids the word “faggot” — unlike Washington and Coulter — Hardaway is the only one to say he hates gays and that homosexuality shouldn’t exist. Also, he says it right before the NBA All-Star game. This earns him a whopping 615 media mentions, according to Lexis-Nexis.
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ANN COULTER
The attempted zinger: Speaking at a Washington conference in front of reporters and TV cameras, Coulter quips, “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ’faggot.”’ Edwards joins former President Clinton and former Vice President Gore — both had been similarly “outed” by Coulter.
The apology: What apology? Coulter tells Fox News Channel’s “Hannity & Colmes” the word “isn’t offensive to gays, it has nothing to do with gays. It’s a school-yard taunt.” She tells The New York Times, “C’mon, it was a joke. I would never insult gays by suggesting that they are like John Edwards. That would be mean.”
In the news: Coulter’s comment has already received 112 media mentions since Saturday, according to Lexis-Nexis. But would Coulter — an author and columnist known for coveting attention — really consider that a bad thing?
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asap contributor Tim Molloy is an editor on the AP’s national desk. AP researcher Julie Reed also contributed to this report. | Only registered users can write comments.
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