Kokomoko (0:00)

You may have heard of the term all press is good press, which was popularized in the early 2000s with tabloid magazines running rampant. But if you look at how the reporting took a toll on stars like Britney Spears and Amanda Bynes, who we now know were dealing with darker things than even the press was aware of at the time, I think it is safe to say that not all press is good press press. In fact, the wrong press can forever tank someone's career. And we see this even more rampant and out of control with the age of the Internet. But how can one measure and anticipate how a bad moment might propel a career or hurt it? I want to dedicate this episode of Ahead of the Curve with Kokomoko to talk about something adjacent to all press is good press press, which is a marketing tactic called controlled controversy. We will examine the past years of Sabrina Carpenter and Katy Perry as two examples of controversy that works in someone's favor, like Sabrina Carpenter versus controversy that will work against someone such as Katy Perry. And then I'm also going to discuss a little bit in the beginning about the things that have come out about. It ends with us legal battle between black Blake Lively and Justa Baldoni, since the last two episodes were about the legal filings. So if you want to read her filing and then also the publicist that came out, Justin Baldoni, put out a filing, but it wasn't even against Blake Lively. So I'm waiting to see if he actually comes towards Blake Lively, encounter sues and then we'll talk about it. But he hasn't done that yet. Contrary to popular belief, he. He is suing the New York Times, who hasn't lost a case since 1964. So I don't think the journalists were going to put out a story if they didn't feel like they could back it up with evidence. So I'm going to wait until it plays out a little more. As always, my opinions and everything I say is alleged. And I'm not a lawyer or a journalist and I've never claimed to be. I am just nosy and I work in marketing and I love talking about these things. I love bringing a new perspective to things. And I always encourage you to do your own research on everything discussed and always come to your own conclusions. Sometimes I'm wrong or sometimes I talk about something that is nuanced and it has a gray area. So it's okay if you don't agree with me because sometimes it is no right or wrong answer. And I really do value having an audience that has different perspectives even from my own. It's never a contrarian conversation. It's always so respectful and different perspectives and ideas that even I didn't think about. So this conversation is always open for discussion in the comments. Just always keep it respectful to all parties involved. And if you're not watching on YouTube or Substack, you can always leave comments in the reviews on Apple or Spotify about the episode to get the conversation and your thoughts out there. So do I think that Blake Lively is a perfect victim? No. But do I think that she has to be for her claims to be true? No. I think that she wouldn't have come forward if she didn't feel that she could back it up. So that is where I stand. One of the biggest defenses right now of Justin Baldoni is that he is a feminist. He had a TED Talk go super viral and because of his feminist TED Talk going viral, he launched Man Enough, a podcast all, all about feminism. And so something I genuinely want to know and I'm getting torn apart on tick tock for it and that's fine. Like again, I think that people that are really gung ho defending him right now, like I don't think it's gonna age well. But what I would like to know because no one's been able to answer it for me is if he is such a feminist and he started Wayfair Productions to tell feminist stories, why did he hire very famous lawyer Brian Friedman? All it takes is one Google search, okay. And you will pull up multiple articles From Business Insider, LA Times and the Hollywood Reporter about how Brian Friedman, his lawyer, had a very. It's public, but he had a settlement that he paid out in 1991 to a girl who accused him and his fraternity brothers of G A N G R A P E her and she was a minor at the time. So his lawyer paid out a settlement to this girl. Again, it's. I'm not a lawyer. A payout is not admission of guilt, but it's not an admission of innocence either. And when the LA Times asked Brian Friedman about this, he said that it's. It gave him a perspective of both sides. So. So wouldn't Justin Baldoni be on the side of standing up for people that were victims of sexual crimes and gender based violence? And wouldn't he want to have a team that really backs him up, especially in such a public lawsuit? But you know, as we know, allegedly there are teams that are running bots, negative campaigns against Blake Lively and pushing videos that are pro Baldoni and suppressing videos that are pro Lively. So that's what I'll have to say about that. But this episode is not supposed to be about Baldoni and Lively again. When he files a countersuit and he has evidence that actually refutes the claims, then I will go in and talk about it. But right Now, I stand 10 toes down, in my opinion. It's honestly taking such a toll on me and my mental health being one of the only creators, like, actually trying to factor fact check info in real time. I'm even being critical of some of the things that Lively and her team have brought up. But I refuse to bash a woman that's come forward about potentially being harassed in an unsafe work environment. But a lot of people are, you know, using her past against her. And so I really just feel so alone right now. But that's okay, because no matter who you think is right or wrong in this, I believe that what's happening is most likely going to change both of these people's lives forever in a negative way. And I think that it's bigger than tea or drama or receipts. Like, I think people that are reporting on it like it's a tabloid. Like, I just don't think that's accurate on either side. I think it's awful for both of them. And I think that it's bigger than drama or tea. And I wish people were treating it as such, but they're not. And I'm. I guess I'm getting dragged, which is fine. Again, like, I don't. At least you guys know the coconuts. You guys know, even if you disagree with me, if you think Justin Baldoni is innocent. I really feel like this is me standing true. And, like, I am not swayed by public opinion. I'm not swayed by what's the popular opinion. I. This is me, like, standing true to what my values are and what I believe. And that can change if new information comes out. But so far, my opinion hasn't changed with the information that's come out. And at least you guys know that even if you disagree with me on something, like, I'm not swayed because of what's popular. I'm not just gonna make a video and say the thing that I think is gonna get the most views and sensationalism, and then when it ages poorly, act like it never happened, but, you know, still cash the paycheck. It's just not like I'm just truly, this is my opinion, even if I'm getting dragged online. So if you guys want to hear more of my Thoughts on Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively as of the first week of January. I'm going to be going on Heather McDonald's podcast tomorrow, so we're going to be filming on Monday, and that is where I'll go a little bit more into my thoughts when. So if you guys want to hear me talk more candidly, I'll let you know when that episode is out. So that leads me to the episode of AOTC Today titled Not All Press Is Good Press. Why are some celebrities able to spin a controversy in their favor and others, it completely tanks their career. This episode was originally going to be about the marketing term known as controlled controversy. And this is when someone will do something that pushes the envelope intentionally to drum up commotion. I think the Kardashians are really good at this. They might misspell a word in a caption, or they might post something that's like slightly, slightly out of touch, that could get headlines, but it's not going to be high enough stakes that it's gonna push away their core audience. But what this Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni situation has taught me is that I honestly think so much controversy is accidental. I initially thought maybe the it ends with us drama could have been like them, yes, having drama, but leaning into it for hype. But I was wrong. That was not correct. I think it's clear that something much darker was boiling under. And now, no matter how the cards fall, multiple people's lives were forever changed. So I did ask you guys about controlled controversy in the substack chat a few weeks ago, and I got some great replies. And I used the example of when Lady Gaga wore a meat dress to the VMAs and everyone was so mad at her in the moment. But then now it's like in the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, and now it's like in a Lady Gaga museum in Vegas. And it's seen as this huge VMAs moment. So sometimes people don't understand it in the moment, and then it ages and people get how iconic it was. So here are some responses. Chad Symes mentioned Janet Jackson's halftime performance. This will truly be the eighth wonder of the world for me. Like, unless one of them really, truthfully says what happens on their deathbed. I'm so interested to know, was this planned? Was it choreographed when Justin Timberlake pulled off part of her shirt and then she accidentally flashed the audience and it was like live television so they couldn't blur it? So you know, Justin Timberlake's the one that physically pulled off the bra? Did he think that there was clothing under? Did she not know he was going to pull it off? What. What was the game plan? Because I really do feel like the way audiences responded to the Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake halftime is that there were layers of, like, racism and misogyny here. So Justin Timberlake got off Scotch free. Janet Jackson's career absolutely tanked for, like, a decade. And what I was, you know, thinking when I was writing the script down was like, if a black man had pulled off the bra of a white woman on national television, even if both of them had planned it for shock value, that man would be the one who paid the ultimate price. So because it was a white man who pulled off a black woman's top, the black woman was blamed. Ultimately, Chad also brought up a great point about how people seemed more immune to crazy things that celebrities did. Like when Prince wore assless tights at the VMAs and he said that maybe it's because back then people didn't have many other outlets to express their outrage in person. And I also think, like, this is a great point, and I really think so much of it also is that back then, before they had the Internet, I think that people didn't form their opinions as quickly. Whereas now, because of the Internet, everyone wants to get their viral thought out there or they want to agree with the most viral thought. Like, I'm guilty of this. I feel like sometimes I don't have a backbone when I go on. Like, if I'm watching a random reality show and I don't know how I feel about different characters. Like, I'll go on Reddit and then, or, like, threads, and I'll, like, read what people are saying, and then I'll like, literally, like, subconsciously form my opinion based on, like, the most viral post. And I'm like, wait, I need to have my own thoughts. So I'm guilty of it too. L. Martin mentioned Lil Nas X kissing his backup dancer at the bets. And I personally can't wait for Lil Nas X to, like, ramp up making music again. Because not only the artistry, but I really think that he's such a master of attention and controlled controversy. I think he's like, really this Gen Z figure that understands the Internet in ways that even the Millennial or Gen Xers maybe don't understand. And so I was actually at the Getty Museum in LA last year, and I was so surprised that I started tearing up when I saw his, like, Satan Nike shoes in a glass box. Because not that I felt A type of way about the Satan shoes. Like, I'm not really religious, so I didn't have, you know, blasphemy feelings towards it. But what I was fascinated is that it was this art display that was all about religion. And so much of the art was from, like, centuries ago. And I think it was really rare that you see art recognized as art within a few years of it coming out. And, like, even while Lil Nas X is still alive, to have that in its own case amongst art from, like the 1600s, the 1500s, the 1900s, like, I thought that was so cool. So I really do think that Lil Nas X is really great at intentional controlled controversy. And I think he's been laying low, but I'm interested to see when he comes back. Mike Searle said that he worked in marketing and he would always look for clients quirks to lean into during a campaign. He said once he called into a radio show to rant, and they use his rant as part of their promo. I think that's really cool. Audrey Knox and Gabby Caw has both mentioned Miley Cyrus's VMA performances. I said that I think it's funny. Like, there's multiple, like, you have to be like, which VMAs. But controversy aside, Miley Cyrus is really like a chameleon when it comes to reinventing her branding and her imagery. And again, I think there is, like, obviously intersectionalism there. I think as a white woman, like, she was able to sometimes adopt things from black culture and then change her image quickly in ways that other artists aren't afforded that elasticity. I think Post Malone is someone as well. And so I really do love her as an artist. I think she's maybe one of my favorites and she's just been laying low. But I would love to do an episode on her and like, really like the Hollywood hair theory, how she leans into that. I think more than anyone when it comes to introducing a new artist chapter to her audience. And I think she really learned that from Hannah Montana and how the two different hairs were like two different characters. So I think her original performance, I think it was at the VMAs when she slid down a pole. It was when she was still at Disney. I think that was an accidental controversy, but then she saw how much attention it could garner. And I think she used this in her favor when she danced with Robin Thicke with, like, the two space buns on her head during the Bangers era. Greg B. Mentioned when I hope I'm saying this, Sain Little Feather Accepted or, like, went up on stage during the Oscars for Marlon Brando, and that was in 1973. I do briefly remember hearing about this, and I do. Like, when someone uses their statuses, maybe they're seen as, like, untouchable, and they use that to uplift others. And then I do believe, though, that earlier this year, reports began to come out disputing her native heritage. And I think that that's such an example of, like, in the moment, it being controlled controversy. But then later down the line, decades later, it blows up, and it becomes actual controversy that no one anticipated. No one in the 70s anticipated the invention of the Internet and the ability for people to find out information. And I think that's kind of what happened here. I think her sister came out so then unbuttoned, mentioned the WAP music video with Cardi B. And then Doja Cat, who dressed up as a cat and only meowed in interviews. And I think with someone like Cardi B. She's an example of almost when audiences get, like, overexposure or, like, controversy fatigue. And I think that it again, also happened with Miley Cyrus, like, near the end of her Bangers era. I think that's why she went quiet for a little bit. I think with music artists, there is a degree of mystery that they have to maintain for people to see themselves in their music. So with some artists, they become almost too much of an open book. Cardi had one of the best runs of a debut album of any artists in the last decade. And then she seemed to really slow her role when it came out to putting out new music. And then for a while, she was really only in the headlines if it was, like, a controversy or a personal moment online. But I also think in some ways, that's okay for artists to, like, put out work once and then they're done. Like, they don't always have to top their last thing. I think people really want the next album of their favorite artists, but then they bash them if it isn't good enough when it comes out or better than the last. And so I think it's okay for artists to just put out one great album and then kind of be done. And that leads me to the episode today, which is Katy Perry vs Sabrina Carpenter when it comes to them navigating controversy. And so I really want to talk about them maneuvering 2024 differently and how one came out unscathed and more popular, and one really just couldn't seem to get a grip on their audience and the narrative. So I think Most people give celebrities, brands and publicity teams way too much credit when it comes to garnering controversy for attention. I think most of the time, at least from the public figures and the brands that I've worked with, they actually don't want controversy at all. And it takes a combination of good timing, circumstances and wit to be able to spin a controversy in your favor versus letting it spiral out of control. So we're going to talk about what those factors are today. And then in the second half of this episode, which will only be available for the paying members of my best selling substack@cocomoco.substack.com I will dive into some more celebrities that I believe had controversies that their careers never really healed from. As you guys know, I've intentionally never run an ad on this podcast in the two years that I've had it because I personally hate how so many podcasts have ad reads every few minutes. And it is thanks to you guys all making my sub stack a bestseller in the last couple months that I get to continue this show and put so much more time an effort into these deep dive episodes. Because like, it's so rewarding to just see you guys in the sub stack chat or in the comments on YouTube. In the comments on Substack. Those of you guys leaving reviews, thank you. Like as always, if you leave the reviews on Spotify and Apple, you can literally just use it as a comment section if you don't want to jump over to YouTube. And I would love for for you guys to talk about like what other public figures that you think you've seen maneuver controversy in a positive or negative way that maybe I don't bring up in this episode. So let's get started with When Controversy Goes Wrong. Katy Perry Katy Perry was on top of the world in the 2010s when she released her second studio album, Teenage Dream. She was the first woman and second artist ever behind Michael Jackson to ever have five singles from one album reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. She became known for having edgy and suggestive lyrics that contrasted a very colorful and playful aesthetic. One look that comes to mind is when she had her bra in California Girls music video and it shot out whipped cream. Her early fandom was really built around people who were drawn to her pushing the boundaries, especially with lyricism, with what was acceptable at the time where so many artists relied on radio play and playing it safe to get on the radios. Her first big song was called I Kissed a Girl, but Midway through the 2010s she came out with her album called Prism. While it was a commercial success, I think it started to lean more into inspirational lyrics that were very family friendly. One big song that comes to mind is Roar, and she might have shifted to lean into this more family friendly angle with the lyrics due to the success of her song Firework from her Teenage Dream album. She followed this up with her album Witness, which came out in 2017. She said this album was inspired by Hillary Clinton losing the election in 2016. She described it as liberation and purposeful population. This would have been her blonde pixie cut era. She joined American Idol the following year, which seemed to further confirm her leaning into a new family friendly image. When it comes to purposeful pop, especially in an election year, I think rather the American public often wants escapism from pop music in their pop culture, especially during election years, especially one as like polarizing as 2016. And if you think about the election year that just happened, 2024, and you think about who was really embraced, it was the Chapel Roans, it was the Charlie xcxs, and these were artists that really allowed for escapism during such a polarizing election. People don't want to consume media about politics. They want to escape politics through media. And so I think Katy Perry's witness in 2017 was coming off the back of just like political fatigue that audiences had. And they didn't really want purposeful pop, they wanted escape pop. One of her singles from Witness was called Swish Swish. The music video featured her on a basketball court and was criticized for making fun of the people featured, with one person even speaking, speaking out. Later in a YouTube video, I believe you pronounce her name. Christine Sudeikis. I will have it up on screen, but I remember her video and she was talking about how she was excited to do this music video with Katy Perry, but when she signed on, she didn't know that she was going to be one of the butts of the joke. When the video came out, this really started to mark a turning point where Katy Perry was no longer the edgy rule breaker who was pushing boundaries. America loves to root for an underdog, but the moment that they become the top dog, they kind of lose that spark in some ways. And even worse is if the top dog is seen as punching down instead of punching up. Once you are seen as not being able to punch up any further, you have to stop just throwing punches. That is why we often see Taylor Swift or Beyonce. They're never going to really pick a public fight with anyone. Because they know that they're kind of on the top of the world. They've worked hard to be there, and people are going to be throwing punches up at them, but they really can't acknowledge it. Because even if they fight back and it's justified, it's seen as punching down. Let me know if you guys would like an episode of Ahead of the Curve called you are equal to your enemies. And this is all about why. I think it's just a good life lesson, too, that you have to be really intentional with the enemies that you pick fights with or not. Like, I guess, like, respond to fights, because you are immediately on the level of the person that you're fighting against. And so I think it's why we might see smaller creators or smaller celebrities. They'll sometimes intentionally, like, punch up at someone because they hope that if they can invoke a reaction from this person, then it's going to immediately elevate their status to that person's level. Even if they, quote, unquote, lose the fight, they've won the war. Because they've now elevated, and I think for a public figure as well, someone who's seen as elevated, the moment that they engage in a negative fight, that is with someone that's, like, maybe seen as lower, then they not only elevate that person's status, but now they're seen as taking a step down. So you're equal to your enemies, no matter who's in the wrong. So in 2020, Katy Perry then released her album Smile. It's the one with her in like the clown nose. And she said that this was inspired by situational depression caused by a temporary breakup with Orlando Bloom and the lack of commercial success for Witness. I would argue one of her best songs of her career, Harley's in Hawaii, is off this album, and I wish she had leaned into that escapism and edginess of the lyrics for the album concept instead of the clown imagery. But again, it's like playing Monday Morning Quarterback. The album was not seen as a commercial success. It opened up at number five on the Billboard charts, but then dropped to spot number 54 in its second week. While I do think it is some of her greatest and most honest music, especially lyrically, I think the aesthetic and the artwork didn't match the vibe of what was to come. But her biggest controversy was yet to come with her 2024 album, 143. The album title stands for I love you. Since it's the number of letters in each word, it makes me think of that Bobby Bracken's Enraged J song that's like 1, 4, 3. I think it would have been so cool if the first song that was released as this album would have been like a collaboration with Bobby Brackens or some sort of rendition. Especially since we're seeing right now like remakes of older songs are really popular with like the younger Gen Z crowd. So if you think about the career of like Coi Lerae, she went back to her iconic jet black hair for 143. The visuals now were very futuristic and robotic, but the music itself itself I think fell flat. It was a dance electronic record with little depth in the lyrics and to me the songs I listened to, they sounded the same. But I'm not a music expert, so do your own opinions. Her lead single Women's World tried to have a humorous angle and she even referenced Rosie the Riveter in the music video, but it really felt like the jokes were stuck in 2016. When you compare it to the success of the dance album Brat that came out the same year, you can see where Bratz lyrics seem to be a lot more honest and raw and more about Charli XCX herself than a commentary on the world at large. After a heavy election year, audiences don't want to be preached to about the lack of control that they have over the bigger world, especially if they're being preached to by a multi millionaire who's seen as being on top. So instead with Charli xcx, it was really introspective, which offered audiences a bit of escapism from their own life. Now, the true controversy for 143 came from something that I don't think she or her team expected. This would have been something that would have been easy to hide or look over in decades past. But now with how easily information is defined, it was hard to skirt around it. Katy Perry worked with Dr. Luke on this album and most specifically the lead single Woman's World. And so when the song came out on Spotify, fans were able to immediately see his name in the writing credits. The reason audiences felt this was a betrayal was because Dr. Luke was accused of essay by Ke$ha and fans saw it as ironic that Katy Perry would release a feminist anthem with someone accused of harming one of her contemporaries, especially if it was gender based violence and her song was called Women's World. It also didn't help that the song was simply just not good. I think like this is so different from Dr. Luke's situation in Ke$ha, but we see Something similar with Ariana Grande, where she had some controversies earlier this year. But I think what's different about Ariana Grande is that if the music is genuinely good, like, people are going to look past a lot of things. And with Eternal Sunshine, the album was genuinely really good, whereas with Katy Perry, I think it fell flat. And, you know, don't make people want to listen to your music. Make music people want to listen to. So for Katy Perry, it didn't help that Kesha released her first solo single since becoming an independent artist. And the song was called Joyride, and it came out a few weeks after Women's World, and it outperformed Katy Perry on the charts. Kesha also seemed to subtweet Katy Perry by tweeting lol. When it broke news that her collaboration with Dr. Luke was uncovered. This controversy seemed to rock Katy Perry so hard that as her album was getting ready to come out, she addressed it briefly on an episode of Call Her Daddy. She said that the album was something she created with many people when asked specifically about Dr. Luke. And I think that this really was an example of, like, all press is not good press, because Katy Perry really, her album suffered especially when the news came out about Dr. Luke working on the album. While I think that was something that came out that was out of their control that they didn't expect, I think that there maybe was an instance of controlled controversy that Katy Perry tried to do when her music video for Lifetimes came out. And I actually think that they took a page directly out of Sabrina Carpenter's playbook. But as Tamara Judge said in Real Houses of oc, this is just my opinion. We don't know for sure, so please don't come for me. So when Katy Perry released her music video for Lifetimes, she really needed a big moment because she had already released Women's World, it had kind of fell flat. So this was her second single that was supposed to move the tide back in her favor. So in this music video she's seen in the Balearic Islands, I hope I'm saying that right. In Spain, in the Mediterranean. And it was then reported by AP that Katy Perry was being investigated by the Spanish government for a scene in her music video where they're in a protected area, and they said that she was running across the. The protected dunes without permission. The regional authorities said that they were opening up a preliminary investigation. And then Universal Music, her label, responded that they applied for necessary filming permits, and when one of them was delayed, they got verbal permission. They could be there. So I personally think this story is a little fishy because first of all, so it was only a preliminary to decide if they were going to do an investigation. And yet it came out in the news already, like, I don't think the Spanish government is leaking that to anyone. And then her team already had a response like ready to go almost immediately when it was announced. So was it her team who maybe leaks the info? I have no idea. Because they just like responded so quickly and maybe let's say it was an accident, they didn't get the permits and then there was an investigation. Investigation. Them responding and then it being all over the news means that they leaned into it for the drama. And it's smart because it would naturally spark people's curiosity and get them to go and watch the music video to see this moment that they're talking about in the video in case it potentially gets deleted or becomes evidence. It's like reverse psychology. Katy Perry's album not only suffered this year because it wasn't great music, but also because the controversies that came out isolated the audiences that she wanted to reach. If she had used her album to feature more up and coming artists that were seen as underdogs whose artistry shines through regardless, such as ray Adela or FKA twigs, who I'm interviewing Adela on YouTube on middle row. That's coming out soon. I'm excited. But then Katy Perry fans would have been more open to the new music. She is no longer the underdog and collaborating with someone who was accused of violence against a smaller but still household name artist like Ke$ha was not a great look. I do think that Katy Perry is a great vocalist and I think she's a great artist. No one can ever take that from her. And I do think that she can come back from these last three albums. I would personally love if Katy Perry went for like a full jazz album and then maybe had like a Dita Von Teese type of aesthetic. It would be cohesive with her early pinup girl look that she gained a lot of her fandom from. But then it would have a sound that could really help age her up with her audience and meet them where they're at now. This leads me to my second example of bad press, but it actually working in someone's favor versus hurting them. And this is Sabrina Carpenter. Sabrina Carpenter began to gain more momentum as a main pop girl this last year after she opened up for the Eras tour with Taylor Swift. And then she had the outros of her nonsense song start to go viral. That's where I first found her. I knew who she was, but I became interested in her as an artist when I was seeing her nonsense outros. And then she also released Feathers, which became one of her first, like, really big hits. The music video for Feathers partly took place in a church in Brooklyn, New York City. The video led to the removal of the church's pastor by the Roman Catholic Church. I have no idea how they figured this out, but somehow this music video led to the Roman Catholic Church uncovering that the pastor had funneled $1.9 million of parish funds to a bank account connected to a close advisor of Mayor Eric Adams, who was then arrested. So while it seems this music video opened up a floodgate into the church's finances, a lot of people when this first came out thought that Sabrina Carpenter had gotten like the pastor was fired because Sabrina Carpenter's music video was quote, unquote controversial. And her team really spun it and made it seem like the church was mad at her for this raunchy video. And I hadn't seen the Feathers music video until I heard about this controversy. And then when I watched the actual music video, I was like, wait, nothing raunchy happens. But she leaned into it, and it led to it being even more viral. She tweeted Jesus was a Carpenter in response to the online discourse that was initially blaming her music video for the pastor's removal. And then she wore a Jesus was a Carpenter shirt at her Coachella performance. So this controversy catapulted this music video and song to even more fame. And a part of me wonders if Katy Perry and her team team were hoping that the same would happen when it was announced that she being investigated for her lifetimes music video. Another controversy that Sabrina Carpenter found herself in last year was when she released the album cover artwork for Short and sweet. It had a royal blue black drop with her blonde hair and her tan skin. And your eye is immediately drawn to a red lipstick kiss on the back side of her shoulder. People on land began to call out the similarity of this album artwork to a French Cosmo magazine shoot. Sabrina Carpenter has never publicly addressed it, and I think that was the right thing to do because fans pointed out that the similar artwork came from a bigger magazine. And so I think it wasn't seen as punching down. If Sabrina had been accused of copying a smaller photographer or model on Instagram that was scraping by to get notice, then I think it would have caused more backlash. I think you can really tell when a star is leaning into controversy that they feel is controllable or not when they immediately respond to the backlash or if they wait it out because Sabrina Carpenter waited this one out and never acknowledged it, I think she felt like it was something she couldn't spin or control. I personally think also that Sabrina Carpenter aggressively being bullied by the Internet in 2020 when Olivia Rodrigo's album Sour came out, that really kind of built up her tough skin fans quickly hypothesized in 2020 that Olivia Rodrigo was writing about a potential love triangle between Joshua Bessette, her and Sabrina Carpenter. This personally was my first exposure to Sabrina Carpenter and all I saw was people bashing her online. She tried to release a response at first with a song called Skin, but that fell flat when she released her next song Because I Liked a Boy. Two years after she was dragged by Olivia Rodrigo fans, it was the first time that the tide started to shift in her favor. The controversy that surrounded her when Sour was at its height could have been career ending for Sabrina Carpenter, but she had one of the best comebacks ever two years later. It reminds me of when the Patriots were losing by 32 points to the Atlanta Falcons in the super bowl at halftime and then they still somehow made a crazy comeback and ended up winning. So why was Sabrina Carpenter able to catapult her career to new heights when dealing with controversies this year year? But Katy Perry seemed to have devastating blow after blow. What makes the two artists and their controversies different? And what is marketers, brand owners or public figures ourselves? Can we learn about when it's time to lean into a controversy or when we should shy away, stay quiet and let it just ride it out? And who are some of the celebrities that faced press so bad that it was hard for them to ever make a comeback? We will be discussing this in the second half of this episode which is only available at cocomoco.substack.com paying members of my best selling substack can get access to extended episodes. And also if you're watching on YouTube either free or not, there's no mid roll ads like there is on YouTube. Not a paying member, but you made it this far. Thank you so much. Let me know your thoughts below. Or of other public figures that maybe turned a controversy in their favor versus public figures that took a hit forever. And let me know in the YouTube comments or reviews on Apple and Spotify if you would like an episode about you are equal to your enemies and we can dive into examples of that. We can talk about public figures that rose their status by picking a fight with someone bigger than them versus public figures that water down their prestige by engaging or picking a fight with someone seen as smaller than them. So thank you guys for making it this far. And then if you're paying coconut, I will see you on the other side@kokomoco.substack.com for the second half of this episode.