𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗣𝗥 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀

When your mistake becomes public, legal action won’t save your credibility…it will crush it.

One thing I often hear from clients in the early hours of a #publicrelations crisis is:

“𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?”
“𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?”
“𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹?”

All good questions. When you're watching something deeply personal play out you want control. You want justice. You want it to stop.

𝗕𝘂𝘁... suing someone during a PR crisis almost never helps - and usually makes things worse.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝘀𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻

When people are hurt, angry, or confused about what you did, they’re looking for clarity. They want to understand why you did what you did and whether you’re taking responsibility.

We all make mistakes, but in a PR crisis, people want to hear that you know what you did was bad/dumb/mean/etc. They’re asking themselves:

“Is this person really like that? Do THEY know this was bad?”

If these questions go unanswered, they assume the worst.

So if the first thing they hear is that you're suing someone? That doesn’t communicate ownership or contrition. It communicates defensiveness and arrogance.

Now the headline isn’t just the original controversy. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀: “𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀.”

You blew it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗜𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
I’ve never had a crisis client who I felt was being treated fairly. Usually their crisis is based on half-truths and distorted facts quickly spreading online.

BUT even if what’s being said is genuinely false or unfair, defamation laws are very narrow. Legal action moves slowly. Public opinion moves fast.

You can’t litigate your way back into people’s trust.

This is especially true online, where the lines between commentary and misinformation are constantly blurring. In this new(ish) format, the law is still trying to catch up.

𝗦𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗗𝗼?
If you have a viable legal claim, talk to your lawyer. Document everything.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵:
• 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 – What happened. What you’re doing about it.
• 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 – If you messed up, own it. If you didn’t, explain it.
• 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 – Show the person underneath the mistake. The one who’s willing to grow.

Pursue legal action, if needed, after you’ve addressed the public moment, taken stock of your relationships, and charted a path forward with sincerity.

The people watching aren't asking whether you use lawyers to solve your problems.

They’re asking whether you’ve learned something.

You have one chance to answer that question.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

#CrisisCommunications
#CrisisResponse
#ColdplayGate