2019 BIMBO of the Year

• Bimbo
• December 16, 2019
• by Spaeth Communications
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2019 BIMBO OF THE YEAR

“The man was not operating a harem, or a sex cult, or holding people hostage or anything like that,” said Steven Greenberg, lawyer for singer R. Kelly who is the subject of a six-part Lifetime docuseries that makes sensational allegations about his sexual relations with underage women. (A classic case of trying to deflect anger or blame by claiming things aren’t as bad as they could be. Continuing with the off-tone comments, Greenberg tried to dismiss Lady Gaga’s recent apology for her song with Kelly by claiming she knew about the “rumors” surrounding Kelly when they started working together, and that she is only denouncing Kelly now to curry favor with Oscar voters. Don’t try to dismiss bad behavior by claiming it could have been worse. Do state the individual’s commitment—even if in the future—to be responsible.)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “R. Kelly responds to docuseries through lawyer, denies allegations of sexual abuse,” Jan. 11, 2019

(As seen in the January and February 2019 BIMBO Memo)

THE RUNNERS-UP

“My lipsticks are not moldy, they are not contaminated, they are not unsafe for you in any way shape or form,” said Jaclyn Hill responding to complaints that the first shipment of lipsticks in her cosmetics line arrived with “holes, plastic particles or unknown fibers that resemble hairs.” (Hill, a blogger and beauty promoter with thousands of devoted followers, learned that if you live by social media, you can die by social media after her acolytes posted pictures of the tainted product. This is a good example of someone who needed media training badly but who thought she didn’t need it as a star and knows everything. She tried to explain and apologize in a very long video, which only served to reinforce the negative publicity. Those black dots? Not mold, they’re “oxygen bubbles.” The “white fuzzies”? Not mold, but remnants of “gloves used by the laboratory.” Like so many of these examples, she had something redeemable to say: “Every single ingredient in my lipsticks is new and FDA approved.” She also said that she would “make it right” and offered customers experiencing quality issues full refunds and new product, which sold out in hours after its launch. However, these positive responses were overshadowed by the “moldy” charge. Note that her denial became the headline. This situation also includes an example of the misuse of a statistic. A spokesperson from Jaclyn Cosmetics issued a statement that said, “… less than half of one percent of orders were impacted by compromised product.” While that may be a small number to Hill, the only order customers care about is theirs! Plus, the “compromised” products account for 100 percent of the complaints and posted pictures.)

MSN, “Jaclyn Hill Responds After Backlash Over Quality of Her Lipstick Line: ‘My Lipsticks Are Not Moldy,’” June 13, 2019

 (As seen in the July 2019 BIMBO Memo)

“There is no evidence of any reports of (Matt) Lauer’s misconduct before his firing, no settlements, no ‘hush money’ …,” wrote president of NBC News Noah Oppenheim in a memo to company staff. (The non-mea culpa was occasioned by the publication of Ronan Farrow’s book, “Catch and Kill,” which paints a damning picture of the news executives attempts to impede or kill Farrow’s investigation of Harvey Weinstein. There is no “could-have-said” advice here because Oppenheim went on to claim that without these legal events, there is “no way we have found that NBC’s current leadership could have been aware of his misdeeds in the past.” A good leader sets up systems that ensure the leader hears things people don’t want him or her to hear.)

BuzzFeed News, “Ronan Farrow Said Hillary Clinton’s Lack Of Support During His Weinstein Reporting Was A ‘Gut Punch,’” Oct. 15, 2019

 (As seen in the November 2019 BIMBO Memo)

The BIMBO Memo is a reminder not to repeat and deny a negative word because of how the listener hears words. When you repeat and deny a negative word, the listener is likely to overlook the denial and hear the opposite of what the speaker is trying to say. It’s named for the young woman who was caught with a high profile, but alas married man. She held a press conference and announced, “I am not a BIMBO,” thus causing everyone to think she was.