February 4, 2025 • 37 mins
Dissecting the public relations and power dynamics involving three high-profile men who were in the news recently: Donald Trump, Ryan Reynolds, and Jay-Z. Let's take an impartial but critical look at Trump's controversial handling of a tragic plane crash and his divisive politics, Ryan Reynolds' suspected staged paparazzi event amid legal drama with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and Jay-Z's recent PR moves amidst serious legal troubles coinciding with Beyonce's Grammy win.
The episode also covers various manipulative tactics seen in these cases and provides advice on recognizing and dealing with power imbalances in personal and professional relationships.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Molly McPherson (00:05):
Hey there, welcome back to the PR Breakdown
, where I like to dissect thebiggest moments in news and in
public chatter.
I like to figure out what'sreally going on behind the
headlines.
Today I'm tackling a PR powerdynamic more as a public service
to help people spot the PRbehind the moves and motives,
(00:28):
behind three men who made themOkay, everyone you can see from
the top and the photos that I amfocusing on three guys, three
guys who were in the news lastweek into this weekend we're
calling the Grammy Awards partof last week.
(00:49):
Now, disclaimer, right off thetop.
I'm talking about three men whoare all individuals and their
actions and behaviors that I'llbe discussing should not be
generalized to every powerfulperson or even all men.
I think it's important to avoidmaking sweet bean
generalizations about entiregroups of people based on the
actions of a few individuals.
(01:10):
So the behavior that I'm goingto describe in this podcast I
just find concerning and it'soften associated with a pattern
of abuse of power and controlthat can manifest in many
different ways, but I justwanted to highlight three of
them and the fact that there arethree guys.
That's just a coincidence, butthey are three very powerful men
(01:34):
who happened to hit the newsthis week.
So I just want to take a closerlook at just some common
tactics that powerful people, orpeople who perceive themselves
to be powerful, might use toprop themselves up or to abuse
other people, with the takeawayof helping people and showing
(01:56):
them how you can apply sometactics to examples in your own
life, because I'm nothing if nota teacher and a helper where I
can All right.
The first one is Donald Trump.
Now, second disclaimer I do notwant to make this political.
This is not anti-Republican,this is not even anti-Trump.
(02:19):
Oh gosh, the LA Times iscalling me.
Oh my gosh, I'm going to keeprecording this podcast.
I'll get back to that reporterlater.
I think they're tied intoreally his political tactic.
I'll just say it.
(02:49):
The man landed himself rightback in the White House.
It's working.
I think Steve Bannon was a bigreason why he's in the White
House the first time around.
I think he was primarily thereason.
But what they found in Trump ishe really did tell it like it
is with thinking and that typeof behavior does appeal to
(03:10):
certain people.
Just that straight talking,nonpolitical.
I'm not a politician.
I want to drain the swamp.
It spoke to people.
It connected with people.
He was first elected.
I gave him credit as a matter offact at a keynote where I
highlighted the communicationstyles of presidents and how it
helped them into the White House, and I noted at that time that
(03:32):
Trump was the Twitter president.
He tweeted himself right intothe White House, in my opinion,
because he knew how to use it,and he still is masterful at
communication.
I am not going to take thatfrom him at communication.
I am not going to take thatfrom him.
Morally, I question a lot ofthe things that he does, but
politically got where he got fora reason.
Just as an aside, politically,I think the Democrats just did
(03:55):
not know how to find theircandidate in time and they did
not.
Democrats simply just don'tknow how to build a fan base.
I think that's just what itcomes down to.
Sometimes you have singers whoare Taylor Swift and sometimes
you have singers who are not,and sometimes it's just the fan
base.
That is the difference betweenone talented singer versus the
(04:18):
other.
So the same holds true withpolitics, but in this case I
just want to highlight a pressconference from last week.
I have a new sub stack.
I want you to look for it, it'sMolly McPherson.
Pr breakdown and sub stack.
I have different levels ofmembership.
I do a weekly email in there,but I added a podcast like an
audio element, my article.
(04:40):
That I did.
I just did a real quick articlebased on the American Airlines
CEO and how quickly he respondedto the crash.
I of course talking about theregional jet that was involved
in a midair collision with anArmy Black Hawk helicopter.
That happened last week.
My goodness, it really rattledme.
I happened up really early thatday and I had mentioned in a
(05:03):
TikTok.
I did several TikToks.
I usually get up and listen tothe Washington Post every
morning.
That's how I get myself out ofbed, honestly.
I'll listen to stories andthat's how I wake up in the
morning.
I'll just put headphones in andlisten to stories and I'll
listen to a couple of them.
To have that first headline beabout.
That plane crash was veryjarring to me.
(05:24):
I've had two stints living inthe Washington DC area.
I lived in Old Town for twostints.
That was my airport.
I lived moments away and, man,it was that easy.
That was the easiest way totravel back when I lived in Old
Town, my goodness.
But it is so congested there.
(05:46):
So it's shocking, but notsurprising, that something like
this would happen.
But I was following the mediacoverage and I did watch the
press conference at the WhiteHouse.
It stopped me in my tracks LikeI was just going to have it on
in the background, and I stoppedeverything I was doing because
it just struck me how brittleand forceful it was for such a
(06:09):
raw moment.
Presidents are there in timeslike this, in briefings, to calm
, to assure, to grieve.
That's typically what a leaderdoes in those situations.
It is a moment to shine.
So when Donald Trump took thepodium, he faced significant
(06:32):
backlash.
This was a tragic mid-aircollision over the Potomac River
.
It claimed 67 lives.
But during that briefing, trumpspeculated that DEI initiatives
, diversity, equity, inclusionat the Federal Aviation
Administration, faa might havecontributed to the crash,
despite providing no evidencewhatsoever.
(07:02):
And the Defense SecretaryHegseth get up there and to have
the key message of both theirstatements be about the
incredible job that Donald Trumpwas doing and how we're going
to get to the bottom of it.
It creates this conspiracy-likethinking that it couldn't just
(07:26):
be a tragic accident, okay, thatit had to be something else and
that someone else faulted.
Again, not wanting to make thispolitical, but I'm looking at
it just from the motivationalpoint of view of what's
happening there Now.
This is politics.
It's politics, but it'spolitics driven by personality
(07:47):
Pete Buttigieg.
He was a former transportationsecretary under Joe Biden.
Trump referred to Buttigieg asa disaster and he blamed him and
the other Democrats forallegedly mismanagement of the
FAA because of DEI.
Trump also blamed Joe Biden forrelaxing FAA hiring standards
(08:07):
in pursuit of diversity goals,even though we had no proof of
this.
But he's claiming that couldhave contributed to the crash
just the hiring practices.
Not to be forgotten that all ofthis is happening at a time when
Trump, in his own words, istrying to quote drain the swamp.
He is trying to push federalworkers out of their jobs.
(08:29):
That is what I'm honing in on.
It doesn't matter if it was aDemocrat or a Republican at that
briefing, it doesn't matter tome, politically it doesn't
matter, but I'm looking at thebehavior.
When there is an administrationthat, right out of the gate,
jumping in and creating so muchchange, it creates this chaos
(08:52):
and no one really knows whathe's allowed to do, what he's
not allowed to do.
There are reports today, nowthat Elon Musk he's in the DGOE
office now and he is gettinginto the back end of USAID and
all the aid and all the moneythat goes to nonprofits and
churches and he has access to somany people's information.
And I also read online too,that he's doing this with a team
(09:14):
of non-federal employees thatare a bunch of young people.
One is still in college andTrump just gave him the
permission to do this.
Damn, that's scary.
That's scary stuff.
But looking at the languagethat he's using, that Trump said
that Buttigieg is to blame.
So what I think this is moreabout is a diversionary tactic
(09:39):
from someone who is just usingpower and the puppeteering of
power, if you will.
It's coming in right out of thegate and show you mean business
.
Now, in theory, there's nothingwrong with that right.
If you're starting a new job,what do you do?
I'm going to show up early.
I'm going to show them whatI've got.
This is reckless and that iswhat some people are definitely
(10:02):
saying.
Pete Buttigieg called hisremarks despicable and he
accused Trump of lying.
Instead of leading during a timeof mourning which I agree, this
was a time of mourning not toimmediately blame the helicopter
pilots, and not only, likethose pilots have families
(10:24):
things.
I heard on Thursday was thefather of the pilot, sam Lilly,
who's 28 years old.
He was engaged to be married.
He's one of the pilots on theregional jet that was from an
airline that's a subsidiary ofAmerican Airlines.
His father was saying he's sosad he couldn't even sleep.
He's just despondent over this,but his father was a career
Army black pilot.
I couldn't even believe thatwhen I heard that.
So just the tragedy.
And then also the fact that thepilot, the female pilot's
(10:47):
parents, refused to release hername.
I give them credit for that.
I wouldn't do it either,knowing the rhetoric that was
happening out there.
Now, of course the Army had torelease it.
It still came out and it was awoman.
So that fit.
That DEI claim certainly rightin the Army, but it just doesn't
work.
It doesn't match and it's just.
It's really sad and it's reallytragic.
(11:09):
So in that is it working?
Like?
Why is President Trump speakingthat way?
Division, rather thancomforting grieving families.
Representative Robin Kellydescribed it as dangerous,
racist and ignorant, accusinghim of prioritizing political
agendas over leadership, and theNAACP President, derek Johnson,
(11:31):
expressed dismay at Trump's useof the tragedy for political
gain.
Again, everyone's talking aboutthe division and it's not just
politicians, aviation experts,disability advocates.
They're criticizing Trump formaking these unfounded claims
and the public perception on itwas pretty harsh.
(11:52):
There was a lot of mediareaction to it and the media
outlets really highlightedTrump's combative tone in these
remarks, some comparing theresponse to his controversial
handling of other crises likeCOVID-19.
And they noted that hisspeculative accusations
undermine his role as a unifyingleader.
(12:13):
And I think that is thetakeaway.
President Trump had a choice tobe a leader or to be a divider.
He chose to divide and thatdoes diminish the qualities in a
leader.
There are virtues in leadershiphonesty, transparency.
He's not showing that.
He's not showing that.
(12:34):
And if you look at his languagefor how he treats women and this
is where I get into thepoweredness of it and to make it
personal and again, notpolitical, but personal If
you're someone who feels thatyou are secondary in
relationships, maybe you mightbe the female in a relationship
and think about that pressconference and think about the
blame and the pointing thefingers.
(12:54):
Are you someone who's ever beentreated that way by a male or a
person in more power to you?
I really struggle looking atDonald Trump as the politician
because he makes politicspersonal.
So it's hard not to look at himpersonally.
It's hard and it doesn't meanthat the Democrats are right or
that Joe Biden was right.
(13:15):
It just is what I'm noticingabout that behavior.
And just look at how he speaksabout women and the use of the
word, for instance, like nasty.
He frequently uses it incontentious or critical context.
It's typically women.
He said that Meghan Markle, theDuchess of Sussex, as a nasty
(13:36):
woman.
He later denied it and saidthat it was taken out of context
.
But he's done it for plentyother women.
He called Nancy Pelosi, theformer Speaker of the House, a
nasty, vindictive, horribleperson back in 2019.
In 2016, during a presidentialdebate, trump interrupted
Hillary Clinton, calling hersuch a nasty woman.
(13:56):
She's such a nasty woman.
Journalist called her nasty anda loser after she questioned
(14:20):
him about voter suppressionduring a 2018 press conference
in his first administration.
There's Senator ElizabethWarren from Massachusetts.
He referred to her you coulddescribe the racial aspect to
that and somewhat also sexuallycharged.
But then the National Cathedralbishop.
In January of 2025, he calledher remarks nasty in tone after
she criticized his leadershipchoices during a sermon.
(14:40):
Fun fact that, bishop, when Iwatched her deliver those
remarks I thought the last timeI watched an Episcopalian member
of the clergy from the pulpit,it was a woman at my brother's
first marriage to anEpiscopalian member of the
clergy from the pulpit.
It was a woman at my brother'sfirst marriage to an
Episcopalian.
So my Catholic mother, ofcourse, had opinions.
(15:01):
I remember her saying could wehave a blessing by Catholic
priests?
Because I just know in her headshe's thinking it's not real.
Even Episcopalian does it.
Back to that story.
I'm watching her thinking, wow,the only other time I watched
an Episcopalian from the pulpitit was someone who looked just
like this and they talked thesame.
I remember the first time Iheard this woman I thought, wow,
(15:22):
I should pay attention toEpiscopalian.
I shouldn't dismiss thisreligion like I've been taught
as a Catholic.
What do you know?
It was the same woman.
I couldn't believe it.
My mom told me that.
Then my brother wrote to me andhe said did you recognize her?
So that was absolutely crazy.
But Trump considered her beingnasty and I did not consider her
nasty at all, I thinknon-politically.
(15:44):
She just spoke from a humanperspective and I thought that
was beautiful, which is reallythe point of this podcast this
week.
The next one is Ryan Reynolds.
You may have seen that he wasinvolved in a fake pap walk.
He made headlines over theweekend because there was video
footage of him signingautographs in New York City, but
the authenticity of theinteractions have been
(16:05):
questioned like crazy online.
Just Google Ryan Reynolds papwalk or stage pap walk, because
so many people on social mediaspeculated that the event was
staged.
For your consideration, it wasfilmed by Baccarat.
That would be a pay-for-playpaparazzi outfit.
It happened at a.
(16:26):
It was like a really good eventthat was designed, it appears,
to push Deadpool posters.
A lot of fans noticed that therewas this identical blue tape
like painter's tape that wasused to affix the merchandise to
cardboard.
They were holding it almostlike pizza, like pizza boxes,
(16:47):
and the blue tape was seen on somany of them.
And when he was signing, peoplecaptured the signature.
It was just like a scribble.
It wasn't even his name or evenclose to a name, because there
are autographs that could be forcollectors, that are official,
that are official collectibles,but this wasn't.
This was a literal scribble.
(17:09):
Now, why would Ryan Reynolds dothis?
The autograph signing occurredamid a legal drama involving
Blake Lively and actor JustinBaldoni.
Some might speculate that itwould be a public relations move
.
I'm going to say it was apublic relations move and I'll
stand by that.
I have no proof other than whatI viewed with my own eyes, but
(17:31):
if you've been listening to thispodcast and my tech talks my
feeling about Ryan Reynolds,also out this week on Hulu there
is the documentary that I satdown for, juju Chang from ABC
News, who is a co-anchor withNightline.
The Nightline story ran onFriday night, I believe, because
the plane crash was on Thursday.
(17:52):
It was supposed to run Thursdaybut they pushed it to Friday
and my guy, greg, he taped itfor me.
So I do have it on DVR but Ididn't see it.
But Greg and I watched the Hulurecording this weekend because
my friend Liz in my group chatwith my friends.
She said so there I was lookingfor something to watch on
streaming and there was Molly inthis documentary.
(18:12):
My other friends were like what?
This was the documentary that Ifilmed two weeks ago when I
went to ABC and it was a goodinterview, juju Chang,
incredibly nice.
Before we sat down to talk aboutBlake Lively, juju and the
producer and I were talkingabout aging on camera.
I think Juju's a couple yearsolder than me, but the younger
producer was talking aboutthings to do with your face,
(18:34):
what women have to do, and Jujuand I were looking at each other
.
Wait, this is not easy and it'snot.
I think the documentary wasgreat.
I loved the soundbites thatthey used for me because I kept
asking.
Greg Greg's a news anchor, he'sa reporter, he's been at it for
decades.
I trust him above anyone else.
I can look at him and say yes,no, and if it's not good, he'll
tell me.
And he has.
(18:55):
If I've ever been shaky onsomething, but he said oh, you
nailed it.
These were good and I couldtell because I had a really good
conversation with Juju.
It was just like a goodinterview feel powerful in
powerful situations.
Now he was able.
I'm going to give him credit,just like President Trump.
I'm going to give Ryan Reynoldscredit.
He was a D-list, c-list actor.
(19:29):
He got his status by datingWomen helped him so
strategically.
He made some good moves there,dated my beloved Alanis
Morissette, treated her likegarbage allegedly, but dated her
.
They were engaged.
When he broke up with her.
She wrote a song called Torchand that album is an accounting
(19:54):
of what it was like goingthrough that breakup.
He was also married to ScarlettJohansson and that relationship
ended.
People speculated when he wasin Green Lantern with Blake
Lively would be the timing ofthat marriage ending.
Scarlett Johansson said that hewas a very overpowering,
controlling, jealous person, andthat matches what a lot of
(20:14):
people say about him.
I said in last week's podcastepisode I urge you to listen if
you want to get more backgroundon why I really feel this way is
he's just someone who's usingBlake Lively, who is the
marginalized one in theirrelationship?
She's over 10 years younger.
She's been isolated, just likein many abusive marriages
isolated financially, socially,geographically, professionally.
(20:39):
Ryan gets all the rewards.
Now it doesn't mean that shecan't do anything.
She got to do this movie.
It ends with us, but she wasdoing it while Ryan was shooting
Deadpool and I contend thatBlake Lively got close to Justin
Baldoni.
She's home with four young kidsand she's a mother.
First, I'm sure, and I'm sureshe cares about her role as
(21:00):
mother greatly, but she missesher old life.
She's a Hollywood kid, she's anepo baby, she starred in a lot
of movies and she probably didnot like living in her house an
hour outside of New York, nextdoor to Martha Stewart, who's
not a fan of Blake nor RyanReynolds and just sitting there
while watching her husbandtraipse around the country,
(21:22):
around the world, filming thesemovies and getting all the
accolades and making all themoney.
As a mom of busy mom of four, Ican speak from experience on
this one.
It's not easy being successfuland really being at the top of
your game when you have otherpeople that you have to look out
for.
It's not easy.
So I give Blake Lively that thedownfall of what happened in
(21:43):
August with that press runaround the premiere of it Ends
With Us and Deadpool.
So much of that was organic,negative media publicity that
was created by Blake Livelyherself and was highly supported
by her husband, ryan Reynolds,just trying to overtake
everything and I know thissomewhat.
Inside they were doing a lot ofthe same things.
Just anybody else does,including Blake Lively and Ryan
(22:05):
Reynolds' PR team.
They didn't do anything that noone else has done.
Blake Lively destroyed her ownreputation, but it was
engineered by Ryan Reynoldsbecause I think he was jealous
of Justin Baldoni and he wantedto blow it up and he got what he
deserved.
So this staged paparazzi eventand I'm calling it staged.
(22:27):
It was so timed well, allegedlystaged, but it was timed at the
peak moment when they werefighting for their court case.
Lively originally sued Baldoniin December 2024, accusing him
of sexual harassment andattempting to damage her
reputation, and Baldoni.
He counter-sued Lively,reynolds and the New York Times
(22:48):
for civil extortion, defamationand invasion of privacy.
He's seeking $400 million indamages, and good for him.
See, he's seeking $400 millionin damages, and good for him.
That is how you fight power,with power.
You tell people you're notgoing to bully and intimidate me
, because that's what RyanReynolds did, I think, bringing
Taylor Swift in to a meeting.
(23:09):
So it's Blake Lively, ryanReynolds, taylor Swift in their
penthouse and Ryan Reynolds isabsolutely berating and dressing
down Justin Baldoni.
He got his in the end.
Now will they live for anotherday, another movie?
Of course, ryan Reynolds willcontinue being Ryan Reynolds,
blake Lively will continue beingBlake Lively, but this will
stick with them.
It will.
(23:29):
And this buddy with HughJackman Now Hugh Jackman's going
to have to tone down his fakerelationship alleged with Sutton
Foster and these two, the buddything.
They're going to have to tonethat down now because people are
on to them.
Everything they're doing iscalculated.
And why?
Because again, it's a powerfulman who's being overpowered
(23:56):
Jay-Z and I'm sneaking him inhere because I just noticed
something this morning when Iwas watching some of the clips
from the Grammys that happenedlast night Beyonce, his wife,
won Album of the Year for CowboyCarter.
I'm a little surprised by that,but I guess that means the
Grammy community thought thatshe deserved it.
I think some of it could besympathy for what she's going
(24:18):
through.
Jay-z is tethered to Sean DiddyCombs right now and the legal
case that he's dealing.
Sean Diddy Combs now has beenincarcerated for a while and
Jay-Z's name has always beenlurking in the shadows of these
cases, lurking in the shadows ofthese cases.
There is a lawyer out ofHouston who is now going after
(24:39):
Jay-Z, and I did.
I wrote a Forbes article aboutthat.
I'll put a link in the shownotes.
But Jay-Z is now back on hisheels and it really does call
into question what Beyonce doesLike.
What did Beyonce know and when?
What does she know right now?
And also, what is Beyonce doingNow?
(25:02):
She won this award and she'snever won this award before.
It's alluded her in the past.
But she attended the event withJay-Z and their third daughter,
blue Ivy Carter.
She was sitting between them.
I watched it and it seemedawkward.
If you happen, just Google it,see it, look at it on social
media.
It's awkward.
I can see two parents sittingon opposite sides of their
13-year-old daughter.
I see that.
But why is your daughter there?
(25:24):
Your daughter's there as thebuffer and the daughter's there
as a PR move?
Because they want the public tosee that they're parents and
this helps Jay-Z more thananyone.
I guess the jury's out.
Is Beyonce a patsy in all thisor is she part of the
calculation to protect Jay-ZRight now?
She is, but is she while she'swinning this Grammy?
(25:45):
Is she plotting to leave Jay-Zto separate herself legally,
from not only the criminalaspect, allegedly, but from a
marriage point of view and theirmoney?
They're moguls.
They are music moguls.
Right now, they are both usingtheir daughter as PR collateral,
(26:06):
if you will, to take the stingout of the reputation and the
hit that Jay-Z took in December.
Taylor Swift announcing theaward and clinking glasses,
jay-z, I don't know what I thinkof that move.
Celebrate Beyonce, sure Taylor,I could get behind that, but no
Clinking with Jay-Z.
I know these things happen at amoment.
They just happen and you'recongratulating everyone.
(26:28):
But the reason why I thought itwas a little awkward is that
Blue Ivy being the youngdaughter that she is, she didn't
stand up to immediatelycongratulate her mom because she
was being a 13-year-old.
I'm not standing up, you canjust see it.
Beyonce was left to just standup on her own and she genuinely
looked stunned.
And then Jay-Z's oh, oh, blueIvy's not standing up.
So I got to stand up and hejust walked over to her and he
(27:02):
said something in her ear thatpeople on social media, like lip
lip readers, were trying tofigure out, and I don't.
I didn't find anyone who couldfigure it out yet, but it wasn't
like a congratulatory kiss of aclose husband and wife.
Let's just say there was acoldness there.
I felt a coldness.
He said something nice perhaps,but no, kiss, nothing.
This should be a meaningful winfor Beyonce, because she became
the first black woman in 50years to win a country music
Grammy.
On stage expressed her shockand gratitude.
So it was all real, it was allauthentic.
(27:22):
But it is a PR move becauseJay-Z is in serious legal
trouble.
He's using his wife and hisdaughter as protection.
Why does this matter?
Wife and his daughter asprotection.
Why does this matter?
The context of power dynamicsand relationships.
(27:43):
So, whether it's Americancitizen, president, voter, actor
, fan ticket buyer, or is it apersonal relationship?
Is it a romantic relationship?
Is it your partner?
Is it your parent?
Is it a colleague?
Whatever it is, some peoplehave more power over the other
and some people get that powerover control, and I mentioned
financial dependence and socialisolation.
(28:05):
Those are tactics that are usedin a professional relationship.
An employer may have more powerof an employee because of their
position or their resources.
So when you start thinkingabout these types of power plays
, consider all the aspects ofrelationships when you evaluate
them.
So there are six different waysthat people use power to take
(28:26):
control over situations usingmore manipulative means, and it
could be from a powerful publicfigure or someone in your life,
one there's gaslighting andthat's manipulating someone into
questioning their own sanity orperception of events.
So for a colleague or a boss,or in the news, it could be a
(28:49):
CEO denying making a sexistremark during a meeting, even
though several people witnessedor heard it.
It's the same thing as Trumpclaiming he never made comments
like that or never said thatwhen he did.
They want to suggest that otherpeople are misunderstanding the
situation.
That's what gaslighting is.
It's not just deflecting anaccusation, it's turning it
(29:11):
around and blaming the personand make them think they're
crazy for thinking it.
Another tactic is coercion, andthat's using threats, pressure
or force to get someone to dosomething.
That could be like a famousmusician threatening to cancel a
tour if a manager doesn't agreeto a specific contract, or
telling the public I'm not goingto do this.
If you keep attacking me or ifthe people on the internet keep
(29:31):
attacking me, I'm not going togo on tour.
I'm not going to do this.
If you keep attacking me or ifthe people on the internet keep
attacking me, I'm not going togo on tour.
I'm not going to do this.
It's they want to get people tocomply.
Look in your life for ways thatpeople force you to comply.
Again, I think President Trumpdoes this in his demands now of
(29:57):
federal workers.
He wants all federal agenciesto comply to DEI standards,
removing them essentially fromevery department.
There's a lot of or else in ourpolitics right now, in our
federal government, which isfrightening.
The coercion happened withJustin Baldoni.
The coercion happened withJustin Baldoni.
Brian Reynolds allegedly wasthreatening Justin Baldoni and
he was pressuring him, like byhaving Taylor Swift in the room
(30:21):
with Blake Lively.
It was pressure.
He had the same agent as Ryanand Blake.
Ryan Reynolds likely pressuredthe agent to drop Justin Baldoni
.
Justin Baldoni's podcastco-star also dropped him.
Guess what she used to do workwith Ryan Reynolds.
She maybe felt pressure toowith us stood by Blake Lively
(30:51):
during the premiere of it EndsWith Us when Justin Baldoni was
literally taken to the basement,stuck in the basement, probably
coerced.
She was pressured into doingthat and there's something to be
said for her coming off ofsocial media, deleting her
Instagram.
She doesn't want to play thatgame anymore.
She wants to take herself out.
Another tactic I mentionedbefore is isolation, that's,
separating someone from theirsupport system, controlling
(31:12):
their communication and limitingtheir social interactions.
I 100% think that Ryan Reynoldsis doing this to Blake Lively.
That's just what the dynamic intheir marriage is and I think
this whole it ends with us blewup because he was jealous.
It happened during the writer'sstrike and that's the reason
why Ryan Reynolds came home inthe middle of the shoot and
while Blake was home in themiddle of the shoot, all of a
(31:33):
sudden, the writing becamedifferent.
The demands became different.
Blake Lively was demanding tosee the dailies.
Everything moved and JustinBaldoni showing that evidence in
the text and the voice notesthat he's putting out there for
the public.
It's just all about controlling.
President Trump again is goingto do that For isolation.
President Trump does that withhis enemies.
(31:55):
He'll isolate.
Jd Vance got isolated duringthe election season.
He was not happy with JD Vance.
He is in the fold right now,but I predict JD Vance will be
out of the fold soon.
Jd Vance doesn't help DonaldTrump in any way, so I don't see
him in there.
Duffy helps him as atransportation secretary.
Hegseth helps him right now,but I think if there's one
(32:16):
misstep with Hegseth, he's outand then Trump will isolate him.
Trump has a way.
Like John Kelly, general JohnKelly, his former chief of staff
If you turn against Trump, youare going to be isolated from
Trump.
That's just a tactic.
That happens.
Look at what's happening withSean Combs and Jay-Z, who they
isolate.
How do they treat Kanye?
(32:36):
How do they treat 50 Cent, likeJamie Foxx coming out and
making really deep accusationsagainst Sean Combs about how he
was treated?
Trivializing is just another way.
It helps the gaslighting.
It's just brushing off concernsas nothing and people
minimizing you, saying you'rebeing too selfish, you're being
(32:57):
too sensitive, you'reoverreacting.
Look at what Ryan Reynolds didin Deadpool when his Nice Pool
character was based off ofJustin Baldoni.
He was trivializing JustinBaldoni's approach to his
connection to females.
That nice pool charactertrivialized Justin Baldoni's
(33:17):
views towards women.
Now, yeah, justin probably useda lot of it as part of his
brand.
But it's very hard to makesomething your brand.
It's very difficult to do whenyou don't believe it.
And if you watch that Huludocumentary about Blake and Ryan
and I encourage you to do itfor this reason for this podcast
you can see, really, I think,who Justin really is.
But what about personally?
(33:37):
If this is happening to you?
One just have someself-awareness and reflection.
The mirror test.
I talk about this with myclients a lot.
Understand your own bias, yourown beliefs and power dynamics
in your life.
Do you use them?
Challenge yourself If you dochange.
Also, promote opencommunication, ethical
(33:58):
boundaries.
Do that in the workplace.
Do it in your life.
If you have problems with yourpartner, your spouse, establish
clear and respectfulcommunication channels.
Help create a safe space whereboth of you feel comfortable
voicing concerns and settingboundaries Also challenge
harmful behaviors and powerimbalances.
Speak up against injustice andinequality, even in small
(34:21):
situations where it helps tocreate a culture where abuse is
less likely to occur.
Or stand up in front of thepulpit.
If you're an Episcopalianbishop and you seriously worry
about people in the country whoare worried about their
livelihood, about citizenshipmoved from their families, about
their jobs, stand up for that.
Support that and support andempower others.
(34:43):
Offer support and encouragementto people who are experiencing
abuse.
If you see it, help it.
Spot it.
Is it someone you know, someoneyou care about, someone you
love?
Is it your kids?
Is it your friend?
Is it your coworker?
Empower other people to speakout and seek help where they can
make a difference.
Oh, there's nothing moreeffective to break down power
(35:05):
than to mobilize power on theother side of it.
And then, lastly, seek help ifyou need it and report abuse.
Know how to report abuse.
I have a link in the show notesfor how you can do it.
If this episode resonates withyou.
Understand the resourcesavailable to victims, because
that's what can be crucial instopping harmful patterns.
Go to human resources.
(35:26):
Stand up for yourself.
Do what you need to do.
All right, everyone.
If you found this episodeinsightful, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review, shareit with anyone who's going
through any type of situationlike this.
I also want to let you know thatI am now on Substack.
I have a weekly email that goesout and, like I mentioned
(35:48):
earlier, last week I added anaudio element, which I love
doing.
I think I'm going to keep doingthat, but I do post frequent
updates on there.
I'm taking my Patreon and I'mmoving it over to Substack
because Substack has morefeatures, so I'm going to be
starting my lives again as well.
So, if you join Substack, I dohave a free feature on Substack,
but I also have a membership onSubstack as well.
But I also have a membership onSubstack as well.
(36:10):
You will receive access tothese lives that I have on
YouTube and you'll just noticemore content on Substack.
So I have a link in the shownotes, but I encourage you to
head over there.
You will see all my weeklypodcasts on Substack as well and
feedback from fans.
I just gave you a little tasteof it in this podcast episode.
I'm going to have a little AskMolly section, where we can talk
(36:31):
about PR in the public space,but we can also talk about PR
for people.
Do you think that there's a PRmove being used against you?
It's me moving into mylifestyle self-help area Like a
Dear Abby, if you're familiar.
I want to give people feedbackas well, because this job in
(36:52):
crisis management gives me somuch insight into human behavior
from a professional point ofview, but darn it if it does not
apply to personal as well.
All right, everyone.
Thanks for listening to thepodcast this week.
Come back for next week's bigstory.
Bye for now.
Hey there, welcome back to the PR Breakdown
, where I like to dissect thebiggest moments in news and in
public chatter.
I like to figure out what'sreally going on behind the
headlines.
Today I'm tackling a PR powerdynamic more as a public service
to help people spot the PRbehind the moves and motives,
(00:28):
behind three men who made themOkay, everyone you can see from
the top and the photos that I amfocusing on three guys, three
guys who were in the news lastweek into this weekend we're
calling the Grammy Awards partof last week.
(00:49):
Now, disclaimer, right off thetop.
I'm talking about three men whoare all individuals and their
actions and behaviors that I'llbe discussing should not be
generalized to every powerfulperson or even all men.
I think it's important to avoidmaking sweet bean
generalizations about entiregroups of people based on the
actions of a few individuals.
(01:10):
So the behavior that I'm goingto describe in this podcast I
just find concerning and it'soften associated with a pattern
of abuse of power and controlthat can manifest in many
different ways, but I justwanted to highlight three of
them and the fact that there arethree guys.
That's just a coincidence, butthey are three very powerful men
(01:34):
who happened to hit the newsthis week.
So I just want to take a closerlook at just some common
tactics that powerful people, orpeople who perceive themselves
to be powerful, might use toprop themselves up or to abuse
other people, with the takeawayof helping people and showing
(01:56):
them how you can apply sometactics to examples in your own
life, because I'm nothing if nota teacher and a helper where I
can All right.
The first one is Donald Trump.
Now, second disclaimer I do notwant to make this political.
This is not anti-Republican,this is not even anti-Trump.
(02:19):
Oh gosh, the LA Times iscalling me.
Oh my gosh, I'm going to keeprecording this podcast.
I'll get back to that reporterlater.
I think they're tied intoreally his political tactic.
I'll just say it.
(02:49):
The man landed himself rightback in the White House.
It's working.
I think Steve Bannon was a bigreason why he's in the White
House the first time around.
I think he was primarily thereason.
But what they found in Trump ishe really did tell it like it
is with thinking and that typeof behavior does appeal to
(03:10):
certain people.
Just that straight talking,nonpolitical.
I'm not a politician.
I want to drain the swamp.
It spoke to people.
It connected with people.
He was first elected.
I gave him credit as a matter offact at a keynote where I
highlighted the communicationstyles of presidents and how it
helped them into the White House, and I noted at that time that
(03:32):
Trump was the Twitter president.
He tweeted himself right intothe White House, in my opinion,
because he knew how to use it,and he still is masterful at
communication.
I am not going to take thatfrom him at communication.
I am not going to take thatfrom him.
Morally, I question a lot ofthe things that he does, but
politically got where he got fora reason.
Just as an aside, politically,I think the Democrats just did
(03:55):
not know how to find theircandidate in time and they did
not.
Democrats simply just don'tknow how to build a fan base.
I think that's just what itcomes down to.
Sometimes you have singers whoare Taylor Swift and sometimes
you have singers who are not,and sometimes it's just the fan
base.
That is the difference betweenone talented singer versus the
(04:18):
other.
So the same holds true withpolitics, but in this case I
just want to highlight a pressconference from last week.
I have a new sub stack.
I want you to look for it, it'sMolly McPherson.
Pr breakdown and sub stack.
I have different levels ofmembership.
I do a weekly email in there,but I added a podcast like an
audio element, my article.
(04:40):
That I did.
I just did a real quick articlebased on the American Airlines
CEO and how quickly he respondedto the crash.
I of course talking about theregional jet that was involved
in a midair collision with anArmy Black Hawk helicopter.
That happened last week.
My goodness, it really rattledme.
I happened up really early thatday and I had mentioned in a
(05:03):
TikTok.
I did several TikToks.
I usually get up and listen tothe Washington Post every
morning.
That's how I get myself out ofbed, honestly.
I'll listen to stories andthat's how I wake up in the
morning.
I'll just put headphones in andlisten to stories and I'll
listen to a couple of them.
To have that first headline beabout.
That plane crash was veryjarring to me.
(05:24):
I've had two stints living inthe Washington DC area.
I lived in Old Town for twostints.
That was my airport.
I lived moments away and, man,it was that easy.
That was the easiest way totravel back when I lived in Old
Town, my goodness.
But it is so congested there.
(05:46):
So it's shocking, but notsurprising, that something like
this would happen.
But I was following the mediacoverage and I did watch the
press conference at the WhiteHouse.
It stopped me in my tracks LikeI was just going to have it on
in the background, and I stoppedeverything I was doing because
it just struck me how brittleand forceful it was for such a
(06:09):
raw moment.
Presidents are there in timeslike this, in briefings, to calm
, to assure, to grieve.
That's typically what a leaderdoes in those situations.
It is a moment to shine.
So when Donald Trump took thepodium, he faced significant
(06:32):
backlash.
This was a tragic mid-aircollision over the Potomac River
.
It claimed 67 lives.
But during that briefing, trumpspeculated that DEI initiatives
, diversity, equity, inclusionat the Federal Aviation
Administration, faa might havecontributed to the crash,
despite providing no evidencewhatsoever.
(07:02):
And the Defense SecretaryHegseth get up there and to have
the key message of both theirstatements be about the
incredible job that Donald Trumpwas doing and how we're going
to get to the bottom of it.
It creates this conspiracy-likethinking that it couldn't just
(07:26):
be a tragic accident, okay, thatit had to be something else and
that someone else faulted.
Again, not wanting to make thispolitical, but I'm looking at
it just from the motivationalpoint of view of what's
happening there Now.
This is politics.
It's politics, but it'spolitics driven by personality
(07:47):
Pete Buttigieg.
He was a former transportationsecretary under Joe Biden.
Trump referred to Buttigieg asa disaster and he blamed him and
the other Democrats forallegedly mismanagement of the
FAA because of DEI.
Trump also blamed Joe Biden forrelaxing FAA hiring standards
(08:07):
in pursuit of diversity goals,even though we had no proof of
this.
But he's claiming that couldhave contributed to the crash
just the hiring practices.
Not to be forgotten that all ofthis is happening at a time when
Trump, in his own words, istrying to quote drain the swamp.
He is trying to push federalworkers out of their jobs.
(08:29):
That is what I'm honing in on.
It doesn't matter if it was aDemocrat or a Republican at that
briefing, it doesn't matter tome, politically it doesn't
matter, but I'm looking at thebehavior.
When there is an administrationthat, right out of the gate,
jumping in and creating so muchchange, it creates this chaos
(08:52):
and no one really knows whathe's allowed to do, what he's
not allowed to do.
There are reports today, nowthat Elon Musk he's in the DGOE
office now and he is gettinginto the back end of USAID and
all the aid and all the moneythat goes to nonprofits and
churches and he has access to somany people's information.
And I also read online too,that he's doing this with a team
(09:14):
of non-federal employees thatare a bunch of young people.
One is still in college andTrump just gave him the
permission to do this.
Damn, that's scary.
That's scary stuff.
But looking at the languagethat he's using, that Trump said
that Buttigieg is to blame.
So what I think this is moreabout is a diversionary tactic
(09:39):
from someone who is just usingpower and the puppeteering of
power, if you will.
It's coming in right out of thegate and show you mean business
.
Now, in theory, there's nothingwrong with that right.
If you're starting a new job,what do you do?
I'm going to show up early.
I'm going to show them whatI've got.
This is reckless and that iswhat some people are definitely
(10:02):
saying.
Pete Buttigieg called hisremarks despicable and he
accused Trump of lying.
Instead of leading during a timeof mourning which I agree, this
was a time of mourning not toimmediately blame the helicopter
pilots, and not only, likethose pilots have families
(10:24):
things.
I heard on Thursday was thefather of the pilot, sam Lilly,
who's 28 years old.
He was engaged to be married.
He's one of the pilots on theregional jet that was from an
airline that's a subsidiary ofAmerican Airlines.
His father was saying he's sosad he couldn't even sleep.
He's just despondent over this,but his father was a career
Army black pilot.
I couldn't even believe thatwhen I heard that.
So just the tragedy.
And then also the fact that thepilot, the female pilot's
(10:47):
parents, refused to release hername.
I give them credit for that.
I wouldn't do it either,knowing the rhetoric that was
happening out there.
Now, of course the Army had torelease it.
It still came out and it was awoman.
So that fit.
That DEI claim certainly rightin the Army, but it just doesn't
work.
It doesn't match and it's just.
It's really sad and it's reallytragic.
(11:09):
So in that is it working?
Like?
Why is President Trump speakingthat way?
Division, rather thancomforting grieving families.
Representative Robin Kellydescribed it as dangerous,
racist and ignorant, accusinghim of prioritizing political
agendas over leadership, and theNAACP President, derek Johnson,
(11:31):
expressed dismay at Trump's useof the tragedy for political
gain.
Again, everyone's talking aboutthe division and it's not just
politicians, aviation experts,disability advocates.
They're criticizing Trump formaking these unfounded claims
and the public perception on itwas pretty harsh.
(11:52):
There was a lot of mediareaction to it and the media
outlets really highlightedTrump's combative tone in these
remarks, some comparing theresponse to his controversial
handling of other crises likeCOVID-19.
And they noted that hisspeculative accusations
undermine his role as a unifyingleader.
(12:13):
And I think that is thetakeaway.
President Trump had a choice tobe a leader or to be a divider.
He chose to divide and thatdoes diminish the qualities in a
leader.
There are virtues in leadershiphonesty, transparency.
He's not showing that.
He's not showing that.
(12:34):
And if you look at his languagefor how he treats women and this
is where I get into thepoweredness of it and to make it
personal and again, notpolitical, but personal If
you're someone who feels thatyou are secondary in
relationships, maybe you mightbe the female in a relationship
and think about that pressconference and think about the
blame and the pointing thefingers.
(12:54):
Are you someone who's ever beentreated that way by a male or a
person in more power to you?
I really struggle looking atDonald Trump as the politician
because he makes politicspersonal.
So it's hard not to look at himpersonally.
It's hard and it doesn't meanthat the Democrats are right or
that Joe Biden was right.
(13:15):
It just is what I'm noticingabout that behavior.
And just look at how he speaksabout women and the use of the
word, for instance, like nasty.
He frequently uses it incontentious or critical context.
It's typically women.
He said that Meghan Markle, theDuchess of Sussex, as a nasty
(13:36):
woman.
He later denied it and saidthat it was taken out of context
.
But he's done it for plentyother women.
He called Nancy Pelosi, theformer Speaker of the House, a
nasty, vindictive, horribleperson back in 2019.
In 2016, during a presidentialdebate, trump interrupted
Hillary Clinton, calling hersuch a nasty woman.
(13:56):
She's such a nasty woman.
Journalist called her nasty anda loser after she questioned
(14:20):
him about voter suppressionduring a 2018 press conference
in his first administration.
There's Senator ElizabethWarren from Massachusetts.
He referred to her you coulddescribe the racial aspect to
that and somewhat also sexuallycharged.
But then the National Cathedralbishop.
In January of 2025, he calledher remarks nasty in tone after
she criticized his leadershipchoices during a sermon.
(14:40):
Fun fact that, bishop, when Iwatched her deliver those
remarks I thought the last timeI watched an Episcopalian member
of the clergy from the pulpit,it was a woman at my brother's
first marriage to anEpiscopalian member of the
clergy from the pulpit.
It was a woman at my brother'sfirst marriage to an
Episcopalian.
So my Catholic mother, ofcourse, had opinions.
(15:01):
I remember her saying could wehave a blessing by Catholic
priests?
Because I just know in her headshe's thinking it's not real.
Even Episcopalian does it.
Back to that story.
I'm watching her thinking, wow,the only other time I watched
an Episcopalian from the pulpitit was someone who looked just
like this and they talked thesame.
I remember the first time Iheard this woman I thought, wow,
(15:22):
I should pay attention toEpiscopalian.
I shouldn't dismiss thisreligion like I've been taught
as a Catholic.
What do you know?
It was the same woman.
I couldn't believe it.
My mom told me that.
Then my brother wrote to me andhe said did you recognize her?
So that was absolutely crazy.
But Trump considered her beingnasty and I did not consider her
nasty at all, I thinknon-politically.
(15:44):
She just spoke from a humanperspective and I thought that
was beautiful, which is reallythe point of this podcast this
week.
The next one is Ryan Reynolds.
You may have seen that he wasinvolved in a fake pap walk.
He made headlines over theweekend because there was video
footage of him signingautographs in New York City, but
the authenticity of theinteractions have been
(16:05):
questioned like crazy online.
Just Google Ryan Reynolds papwalk or stage pap walk, because
so many people on social mediaspeculated that the event was
staged.
For your consideration, it wasfilmed by Baccarat.
That would be a pay-for-playpaparazzi outfit.
It happened at a.
(16:26):
It was like a really good eventthat was designed, it appears,
to push Deadpool posters.
A lot of fans noticed that therewas this identical blue tape
like painter's tape that wasused to affix the merchandise to
cardboard.
They were holding it almostlike pizza, like pizza boxes,
(16:47):
and the blue tape was seen on somany of them.
And when he was signing, peoplecaptured the signature.
It was just like a scribble.
It wasn't even his name or evenclose to a name, because there
are autographs that could be forcollectors, that are official,
that are official collectibles,but this wasn't.
This was a literal scribble.
(17:09):
Now, why would Ryan Reynolds dothis?
The autograph signing occurredamid a legal drama involving
Blake Lively and actor JustinBaldoni.
Some might speculate that itwould be a public relations move
.
I'm going to say it was apublic relations move and I'll
stand by that.
I have no proof other than whatI viewed with my own eyes, but
(17:31):
if you've been listening to thispodcast and my tech talks my
feeling about Ryan Reynolds,also out this week on Hulu there
is the documentary that I satdown for, juju Chang from ABC
News, who is a co-anchor withNightline.
The Nightline story ran onFriday night, I believe, because
the plane crash was on Thursday.
(17:52):
It was supposed to run Thursdaybut they pushed it to Friday
and my guy, greg, he taped itfor me.
So I do have it on DVR but Ididn't see it.
But Greg and I watched the Hulurecording this weekend because
my friend Liz in my group chatwith my friends.
She said so there I was lookingfor something to watch on
streaming and there was Molly inthis documentary.
(18:12):
My other friends were like what?
This was the documentary that Ifilmed two weeks ago when I
went to ABC and it was a goodinterview, juju Chang,
incredibly nice.
Before we sat down to talk aboutBlake Lively, juju and the
producer and I were talkingabout aging on camera.
I think Juju's a couple yearsolder than me, but the younger
producer was talking aboutthings to do with your face,
(18:34):
what women have to do, and Jujuand I were looking at each other
.
Wait, this is not easy and it'snot.
I think the documentary wasgreat.
I loved the soundbites thatthey used for me because I kept
asking.
Greg Greg's a news anchor, he'sa reporter, he's been at it for
decades.
I trust him above anyone else.
I can look at him and say yes,no, and if it's not good, he'll
tell me.
And he has.
(18:55):
If I've ever been shaky onsomething, but he said oh, you
nailed it.
These were good and I couldtell because I had a really good
conversation with Juju.
It was just like a goodinterview feel powerful in
powerful situations.
Now he was able.
I'm going to give him credit,just like President Trump.
I'm going to give Ryan Reynoldscredit.
He was a D-list, c-list actor.
(19:29):
He got his status by datingWomen helped him so
strategically.
He made some good moves there,dated my beloved Alanis
Morissette, treated her likegarbage allegedly, but dated her
.
They were engaged.
When he broke up with her.
She wrote a song called Torchand that album is an accounting
(19:54):
of what it was like goingthrough that breakup.
He was also married to ScarlettJohansson and that relationship
ended.
People speculated when he wasin Green Lantern with Blake
Lively would be the timing ofthat marriage ending.
Scarlett Johansson said that hewas a very overpowering,
controlling, jealous person, andthat matches what a lot of
(20:14):
people say about him.
I said in last week's podcastepisode I urge you to listen if
you want to get more backgroundon why I really feel this way is
he's just someone who's usingBlake Lively, who is the
marginalized one in theirrelationship?
She's over 10 years younger.
She's been isolated, just likein many abusive marriages
isolated financially, socially,geographically, professionally.
(20:39):
Ryan gets all the rewards.
Now it doesn't mean that shecan't do anything.
She got to do this movie.
It ends with us, but she wasdoing it while Ryan was shooting
Deadpool and I contend thatBlake Lively got close to Justin
Baldoni.
She's home with four young kidsand she's a mother.
First, I'm sure, and I'm sureshe cares about her role as
(21:00):
mother greatly, but she missesher old life.
She's a Hollywood kid, she's anepo baby, she starred in a lot
of movies and she probably didnot like living in her house an
hour outside of New York, nextdoor to Martha Stewart, who's
not a fan of Blake nor RyanReynolds and just sitting there
while watching her husbandtraipse around the country,
(21:22):
around the world, filming thesemovies and getting all the
accolades and making all themoney.
As a mom of busy mom of four, Ican speak from experience on
this one.
It's not easy being successfuland really being at the top of
your game when you have otherpeople that you have to look out
for.
It's not easy.
So I give Blake Lively that thedownfall of what happened in
(21:43):
August with that press runaround the premiere of it Ends
With Us and Deadpool.
So much of that was organic,negative media publicity that
was created by Blake Livelyherself and was highly supported
by her husband, ryan Reynolds,just trying to overtake
everything and I know thissomewhat.
Inside they were doing a lot ofthe same things.
Just anybody else does,including Blake Lively and Ryan
(22:05):
Reynolds' PR team.
They didn't do anything that noone else has done.
Blake Lively destroyed her ownreputation, but it was
engineered by Ryan Reynoldsbecause I think he was jealous
of Justin Baldoni and he wantedto blow it up and he got what he
deserved.
So this staged paparazzi eventand I'm calling it staged.
(22:27):
It was so timed well, allegedlystaged, but it was timed at the
peak moment when they werefighting for their court case.
Lively originally sued Baldoniin December 2024, accusing him
of sexual harassment andattempting to damage her
reputation, and Baldoni.
He counter-sued Lively,reynolds and the New York Times
(22:48):
for civil extortion, defamationand invasion of privacy.
He's seeking $400 million indamages, and good for him.
See, he's seeking $400 millionin damages, and good for him.
That is how you fight power,with power.
You tell people you're notgoing to bully and intimidate me
, because that's what RyanReynolds did, I think, bringing
Taylor Swift in to a meeting.
(23:09):
So it's Blake Lively, ryanReynolds, taylor Swift in their
penthouse and Ryan Reynolds isabsolutely berating and dressing
down Justin Baldoni.
He got his in the end.
Now will they live for anotherday, another movie?
Of course, ryan Reynolds willcontinue being Ryan Reynolds,
blake Lively will continue beingBlake Lively, but this will
stick with them.
It will.
(23:29):
And this buddy with HughJackman Now Hugh Jackman's going
to have to tone down his fakerelationship alleged with Sutton
Foster and these two, the buddything.
They're going to have to tonethat down now because people are
on to them.
Everything they're doing iscalculated.
And why?
Because again, it's a powerfulman who's being overpowered
(23:56):
Jay-Z and I'm sneaking him inhere because I just noticed
something this morning when Iwas watching some of the clips
from the Grammys that happenedlast night Beyonce, his wife,
won Album of the Year for CowboyCarter.
I'm a little surprised by that,but I guess that means the
Grammy community thought thatshe deserved it.
I think some of it could besympathy for what she's going
(24:18):
through.
Jay-z is tethered to Sean DiddyCombs right now and the legal
case that he's dealing.
Sean Diddy Combs now has beenincarcerated for a while and
Jay-Z's name has always beenlurking in the shadows of these
cases, lurking in the shadows ofthese cases.
There is a lawyer out ofHouston who is now going after
(24:39):
Jay-Z, and I did.
I wrote a Forbes article aboutthat.
I'll put a link in the shownotes.
But Jay-Z is now back on hisheels and it really does call
into question what Beyonce doesLike.
What did Beyonce know and when?
What does she know right now?
And also, what is Beyonce doingNow?
(25:02):
She won this award and she'snever won this award before.
It's alluded her in the past.
But she attended the event withJay-Z and their third daughter,
blue Ivy Carter.
She was sitting between them.
I watched it and it seemedawkward.
If you happen, just Google it,see it, look at it on social
media.
It's awkward.
I can see two parents sittingon opposite sides of their
13-year-old daughter.
I see that.
But why is your daughter there?
(25:24):
Your daughter's there as thebuffer and the daughter's there
as a PR move?
Because they want the public tosee that they're parents and
this helps Jay-Z more thananyone.
I guess the jury's out.
Is Beyonce a patsy in all thisor is she part of the
calculation to protect Jay-ZRight now?
She is, but is she while she'swinning this Grammy?
(25:45):
Is she plotting to leave Jay-Zto separate herself legally,
from not only the criminalaspect, allegedly, but from a
marriage point of view and theirmoney?
They're moguls.
They are music moguls.
Right now, they are both usingtheir daughter as PR collateral,
(26:06):
if you will, to take the stingout of the reputation and the
hit that Jay-Z took in December.
Taylor Swift announcing theaward and clinking glasses,
jay-z, I don't know what I thinkof that move.
Celebrate Beyonce, sure Taylor,I could get behind that, but no
Clinking with Jay-Z.
I know these things happen at amoment.
They just happen and you'recongratulating everyone.
(26:28):
But the reason why I thought itwas a little awkward is that
Blue Ivy being the youngdaughter that she is, she didn't
stand up to immediatelycongratulate her mom because she
was being a 13-year-old.
I'm not standing up, you canjust see it.
Beyonce was left to just standup on her own and she genuinely
looked stunned.
And then Jay-Z's oh, oh, blueIvy's not standing up.
So I got to stand up and hejust walked over to her and he
(27:02):
said something in her ear thatpeople on social media, like lip
lip readers, were trying tofigure out, and I don't.
I didn't find anyone who couldfigure it out yet, but it wasn't
like a congratulatory kiss of aclose husband and wife.
Let's just say there was acoldness there.
I felt a coldness.
He said something nice perhaps,but no, kiss, nothing.
This should be a meaningful winfor Beyonce, because she became
the first black woman in 50years to win a country music
Grammy.
On stage expressed her shockand gratitude.
So it was all real, it was allauthentic.
(27:22):
But it is a PR move becauseJay-Z is in serious legal
trouble.
He's using his wife and hisdaughter as protection.
Why does this matter?
Wife and his daughter asprotection.
Why does this matter?
The context of power dynamicsand relationships.
(27:43):
So, whether it's Americancitizen, president, voter, actor
, fan ticket buyer, or is it apersonal relationship?
Is it a romantic relationship?
Is it your partner?
Is it your parent?
Is it a colleague?
Whatever it is, some peoplehave more power over the other
and some people get that powerover control, and I mentioned
financial dependence and socialisolation.
(28:05):
Those are tactics that are usedin a professional relationship.
An employer may have more powerof an employee because of their
position or their resources.
So when you start thinkingabout these types of power plays
, consider all the aspects ofrelationships when you evaluate
them.
So there are six different waysthat people use power to take
(28:26):
control over situations usingmore manipulative means, and it
could be from a powerful publicfigure or someone in your life,
one there's gaslighting andthat's manipulating someone into
questioning their own sanity orperception of events.
So for a colleague or a boss,or in the news, it could be a
(28:49):
CEO denying making a sexistremark during a meeting, even
though several people witnessedor heard it.
It's the same thing as Trumpclaiming he never made comments
like that or never said thatwhen he did.
They want to suggest that otherpeople are misunderstanding the
situation.
That's what gaslighting is.
It's not just deflecting anaccusation, it's turning it
(29:11):
around and blaming the personand make them think they're
crazy for thinking it.
Another tactic is coercion, andthat's using threats, pressure
or force to get someone to dosomething.
That could be like a famousmusician threatening to cancel a
tour if a manager doesn't agreeto a specific contract, or
telling the public I'm not goingto do this.
If you keep attacking me or ifthe people on the internet keep
(29:31):
attacking me, I'm not going togo on tour.
I'm not going to do this.
If you keep attacking me or ifthe people on the internet keep
attacking me, I'm not going togo on tour.
I'm not going to do this.
It's they want to get people tocomply.
Look in your life for ways thatpeople force you to comply.
Again, I think President Trumpdoes this in his demands now of
(29:57):
federal workers.
He wants all federal agenciesto comply to DEI standards,
removing them essentially fromevery department.
There's a lot of or else in ourpolitics right now, in our
federal government, which isfrightening.
The coercion happened withJustin Baldoni.
The coercion happened withJustin Baldoni.
Brian Reynolds allegedly wasthreatening Justin Baldoni and
he was pressuring him, like byhaving Taylor Swift in the room
(30:21):
with Blake Lively.
It was pressure.
He had the same agent as Ryanand Blake.
Ryan Reynolds likely pressuredthe agent to drop Justin Baldoni
.
Justin Baldoni's podcastco-star also dropped him.
Guess what she used to do workwith Ryan Reynolds.
She maybe felt pressure toowith us stood by Blake Lively
(30:51):
during the premiere of it EndsWith Us when Justin Baldoni was
literally taken to the basement,stuck in the basement, probably
coerced.
She was pressured into doingthat and there's something to be
said for her coming off ofsocial media, deleting her
Instagram.
She doesn't want to play thatgame anymore.
She wants to take herself out.
Another tactic I mentionedbefore is isolation, that's,
separating someone from theirsupport system, controlling
(31:12):
their communication and limitingtheir social interactions.
I 100% think that Ryan Reynoldsis doing this to Blake Lively.
That's just what the dynamic intheir marriage is and I think
this whole it ends with us blewup because he was jealous.
It happened during the writer'sstrike and that's the reason
why Ryan Reynolds came home inthe middle of the shoot and
while Blake was home in themiddle of the shoot, all of a
(31:33):
sudden, the writing becamedifferent.
The demands became different.
Blake Lively was demanding tosee the dailies.
Everything moved and JustinBaldoni showing that evidence in
the text and the voice notesthat he's putting out there for
the public.
It's just all about controlling.
President Trump again is goingto do that For isolation.
President Trump does that withhis enemies.
(31:55):
He'll isolate.
Jd Vance got isolated duringthe election season.
He was not happy with JD Vance.
He is in the fold right now,but I predict JD Vance will be
out of the fold soon.
Jd Vance doesn't help DonaldTrump in any way, so I don't see
him in there.
Duffy helps him as atransportation secretary.
Hegseth helps him right now,but I think if there's one
(32:16):
misstep with Hegseth, he's outand then Trump will isolate him.
Trump has a way.
Like John Kelly, general JohnKelly, his former chief of staff
If you turn against Trump, youare going to be isolated from
Trump.
That's just a tactic.
That happens.
Look at what's happening withSean Combs and Jay-Z, who they
isolate.
How do they treat Kanye?
(32:36):
How do they treat 50 Cent, likeJamie Foxx coming out and
making really deep accusationsagainst Sean Combs about how he
was treated?
Trivializing is just another way.
It helps the gaslighting.
It's just brushing off concernsas nothing and people
minimizing you, saying you'rebeing too selfish, you're being
(32:57):
too sensitive, you'reoverreacting.
Look at what Ryan Reynolds didin Deadpool when his Nice Pool
character was based off ofJustin Baldoni.
He was trivializing JustinBaldoni's approach to his
connection to females.
That nice pool charactertrivialized Justin Baldoni's
(33:17):
views towards women.
Now, yeah, justin probably useda lot of it as part of his
brand.
But it's very hard to makesomething your brand.
It's very difficult to do whenyou don't believe it.
And if you watch that Huludocumentary about Blake and Ryan
and I encourage you to do itfor this reason for this podcast
you can see, really, I think,who Justin really is.
But what about personally?
(33:37):
If this is happening to you?
One just have someself-awareness and reflection.
The mirror test.
I talk about this with myclients a lot.
Understand your own bias, yourown beliefs and power dynamics
in your life.
Do you use them?
Challenge yourself If you dochange.
Also, promote opencommunication, ethical
(33:58):
boundaries.
Do that in the workplace.
Do it in your life.
If you have problems with yourpartner, your spouse, establish
clear and respectfulcommunication channels.
Help create a safe space whereboth of you feel comfortable
voicing concerns and settingboundaries Also challenge
harmful behaviors and powerimbalances.
Speak up against injustice andinequality, even in small
(34:21):
situations where it helps tocreate a culture where abuse is
less likely to occur.
Or stand up in front of thepulpit.
If you're an Episcopalianbishop and you seriously worry
about people in the country whoare worried about their
livelihood, about citizenshipmoved from their families, about
their jobs, stand up for that.
Support that and support andempower others.
(34:43):
Offer support and encouragementto people who are experiencing
abuse.
If you see it, help it.
Spot it.
Is it someone you know, someoneyou care about, someone you
love?
Is it your kids?
Is it your friend?
Is it your coworker?
Empower other people to speakout and seek help where they can
make a difference.
Oh, there's nothing moreeffective to break down power
(35:05):
than to mobilize power on theother side of it.
And then, lastly, seek help ifyou need it and report abuse.
Know how to report abuse.
I have a link in the show notesfor how you can do it.
If this episode resonates withyou.
Understand the resourcesavailable to victims, because
that's what can be crucial instopping harmful patterns.
Go to human resources.
(35:26):
Stand up for yourself.
Do what you need to do.
All right, everyone.
If you found this episodeinsightful, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review, shareit with anyone who's going
through any type of situationlike this.
I also want to let you know thatI am now on Substack.
I have a weekly email that goesout and, like I mentioned
(35:48):
earlier, last week I added anaudio element, which I love
doing.
I think I'm going to keep doingthat, but I do post frequent
updates on there.
I'm taking my Patreon and I'mmoving it over to Substack
because Substack has morefeatures, so I'm going to be
starting my lives again as well.
So, if you join Substack, I dohave a free feature on Substack,
but I also have a membership onSubstack as well.
But I also have a membership onSubstack as well.
(36:10):
You will receive access tothese lives that I have on
YouTube and you'll just noticemore content on Substack.
So I have a link in the shownotes, but I encourage you to
head over there.
You will see all my weeklypodcasts on Substack as well and
feedback from fans.
I just gave you a little tasteof it in this podcast episode.
I'm going to have a little AskMolly section, where we can talk
(36:31):
about PR in the public space,but we can also talk about PR
for people.
Do you think that there's a PRmove being used against you?
It's me moving into mylifestyle self-help area Like a
Dear Abby, if you're familiar.
I want to give people feedbackas well, because this job in
(36:52):
crisis management gives me somuch insight into human behavior
from a professional point ofview, but darn it if it does not
apply to personal as well.
All right, everyone.
Thanks for listening to thepodcast this week.
Come back for next week's bigstory.
Bye for now.
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