PR Job – put a new Sheen on this one

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By Cori Pope

By now everyone’s heard of the self destructive, downward spiral of beloved Two and a Half Men star and Golden Globe winner, Charlie Sheen.

Just in the past month Sheen’s reputation has gone from notorious bad boy to infamous binge drinking, coke smoking, ever in the presence of porn stars partier. To put the icing on the cake, all this comes as he’s still on probation for his domestic violence spat with ex-wife Brooke Mueller.

Recently, a video surfaced of Sheen dancing, with three scantily clad women at the inception of his 36-hour cocaine fueled party binge last week. Of course, this marathon resulted in a trip to the hospital and rehab.

Now, Charlie’s speaking up about the rumors saying, “All crap. Believe nothing. I will never speak about any of this as long as I’m alive. You’re all gonna have to keep towing the same redundant line, guessing wrong.”

Later his rep spoke on Sheen’s behalf of his remorse and new work ethic.

“I have a lot of work to do to be able to return the support I have received from so many people. I want to say thank you to my fellow cast members, the crew of Two and a Half Men and everyone at CBS and Warner Bros., especially [CBS CEO] Les Moonves and [Warner Bros. TV President] Bruce Rosenblum for their concern and support. And to my fans, your good wishes have touched me very much. Like Errol Flynn, who had to put down his sword on occasion, I just want to say thank you.”

Right now his reps need to put on their best public relations hats to turn his reputation around, which will not be an easy fix.

But here’s a little encouragement, look at Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Brittany Spears and Whitney Houston.

The World Cup of Reputation Management

Shot bounces off Robert Green's hands and into the net in the U.S. vs. England's 1-1 tie. (Sohn/AP Robert)
Shot bounces off Robert Green's hands and into the net in the U.S. vs. England's 1-1 tie. (Sohn/AP Robert)

Advertisement for the 2010 World Cup touts that one game changes everything.

How right they are. One defender caught napping—or an unfocused goalie (need we mention England’s Robert Green?)—and a game, if not an entire cup, can be lost.

Lose a game. Lose a chance at greatness.

The same tagline also applies to reputation management.

Just ask Helen Thomas, the veteran White House correspondent, who made some inappropriate and untimely comments about Israelis. She was forced to hastily retire – ending her more than 50-year journalistic career in disgrace.

Just ask the BP CEO Tony Hayward, whose multiple gaffes have made him such easy pickings that the late night joke writers don’t even have to try.  A leadership change at BP would not surprise many insiders.

The only people likely happy with BP’s troubles are Toyota, who have fallen off the front page because their recent mistakes have been washed away by bigger, newer examples of poor reputation management.

One misstep…and years of golden reputation and favorable public image can be tarnished forever.

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