She clears her throat after what was probably a few seconds but felt like minutes. “I think I just want to be blunt, you know?” she says finally. “I hate these stupid games.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling a little more confident now because this is something I can handle. “I think going direct is a good move. I can draw up a statement, and with your approval, we’ll havePeoplerelease it first before it goes out to the other sites.”
We usually givePeoplepriority on these kinds of things—they’re more sympathetic than TMZ, who’d rather be first than fair.
“Can you tell me what it’ll say?”
I pull my chin inward. She wants the statement now? Like, right now?
“Well,” I start, because Bailey is expecting Simone-level crisis management.
Think, Claire. Think.
“Okay, you could start by saying you had no idea about the rumor,” I offer.
“I was blindsided,” she says, her voice cracking.
“Yes, that’s stronger,” I say, glancing at Tessa to make sure she’s getting all this. Not that I need to. She hasn’t stopped writing since the call started.
“So, something like ‘I was blindsided by the news, just like everyone else.’”
“That works,” a sniffling Bailey says.
I search around the room while I think of the next line. It needs to be simple but hit hard.
“I know this is sensitive, but would you be okay with posting something about how heartbroken you feel?”
“Um . . . I . . . I guess,” she says.
“Nothing too revealing,” I reassure her. “Something like ‘I’m heartbroken and trying to move forward.’”
“Yeah,” Bailey says. “That could work.”
“We’ll keep it short and end with a simple ‘I won’t be making further comments about my personal life.’”
“I like that,” she says. And I breathe out a sigh of relief, having pulled that off.
“It’s dignified,” I tell her. “It says what it needs to say—you’re acknowledging what happened without taking the blame.”
Then the fans can decide who they believe, and hopefully it will be Bailey.
She sniffles over the phone speaker. “Let’s do it.”
“Consider it done,” I tell her. “I’ll send it to you first, so you can post at the same time asPeople, or you can share their post. Whatever you’d like to do.”
“Thanks for your help,” Bailey says, sounding sincere. “I really appreciate it.”
We hang up, and then with Tessa’s notes, I quickly type up what we discussed, text it over to Bailey for her approval, and call my contact atPeopleand ask if they want it. It’s an easy yes, andthe statement is live twenty minutes later. Bailey shares it with her fans, and it’s not long until other outlets are posting it on social media.
Just like that, in the span of half an hour, we’ve made our move. What happens next is up to the fans. And River and Luke, I guess. I’d love it if this were the end of it all, but something tells me it won’t be.
Then, as if I’ve conjured him like an evil spirit, he texts me.
Jerkwad:So, you went with a statement. That’s like PR 101
Me:Jealous you didn’t think of it first and instead went with a puppy stunt?
Jerkwad:That was a good move and you know it
