This week was a reminder of just how painful a publicist’s life can be at times – when Deborah Norville kicked a publicist.
People who saw what happened said the Inside Edition anchor was trying to interview various celebrities on the red carpet at Harper’s Bazaar Starry Icons party. As will happen on a red carpet, people kept walking by and getting in her shot.
Apparently Norville at some point went into diva mode and kicked a passing publicist who was talking with Jean-Paul Goude. Norville continued her interview, and when the unsuspecting publicist got close, Norville reached out and kicked the girl hard. From some accounts, Norville’s behavior went downhill from there.
It’s not the first time a Public Relations pro has been assaulted…
Ray-J’s publicist Morgan Hardman: “Ray J Needs some help!”
Similar incidents included an accusation from rapper Ray J’s longtime friend and publicist, Morgan Hardman in October 2014, as production closed on a reality show.
Hardman posted on her Instagram account that Ray J had physically assaulted her and threatened to kill her in front of her young son.
At the 2012 Zac Posen Fashion Week runway show, there was a problem when the New York Fire Department removed 60 seats from the venue. Seating all of a sudden was a huge problem. Posen’s publicist, Lynn Tesoro, was working hard to get everyone seated and in walked three French editors, Marie-José Susskind-Jalon, president of Jalon publishing house, and her daughters, Jennifer Emera and Vanessa Bludgeon of Jalousie and L’Officiel magazines.
The ladies did not feel they were treated with sufficient speed and respect, so one of them slapped Tesoro.
All parties later confirmed the incident. With a recognizable French attitude, the slapper was totally unrepentant saying it was only a small slap, it didn’t hurt, just meant to humiliate Tesoro since her lack of respect had humiliated the senior of the three.
And sometimes it goes the other way, like with Russian publicist Yegor Kholmogrov who stated on his Facebook page that women who uttered the word “sexism” should be punched in the face.
Bam Margera posted a selfie after an altercation
Secret Solstice Festival marketing director, Leon Hill was almost caught in an altercation with Bam Margera in June of 2015, the versions offered by each are vastly different from the other.
Corroborating accounts indicate that Margera was verbally abusive to several people, but it started with one of Hill’s staff, Angela. The verbal abuse escalated to him getting physical.
Then Margera began to shout that he was going to beat up Hill. Other things happened, but we wonder if this was just one more incident of Margera not knowing when to stop being a Jacka$$.
Yep, now you know, PR is not all press releases and handing out goodie bags. Of course if you are in PR already, you know just how far from reality that is anyway. But at least very few PR pros have been physically assaulted.