The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Analyzing Power Dynamics: Trump, Reynolds, and Jay-Z Under the PR Microscope

• Molly McPherson • Episode 298

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Dissecting the public relations and power dynamics involving three high-profile men who were in the news recently: Donald Trump, Ryan Reynolds, and Jay-Z. Let's take an impartial but critical look at Trump's controversial handling of a tragic plane crash and his divisive politics, Ryan Reynolds' suspected staged paparazzi event amid legal drama with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, and Jay-Z's recent PR moves amidst serious legal troubles coinciding with Beyonce's Grammy win. 

The episode also covers various manipulative tactics seen in these cases and provides advice on recognizing and dealing with power imbalances in personal and professional relationships.

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Molly McPherson:

Hey there, welcome back to the PR Breakdown, where I like to dissect the biggest moments in news and in public chatter. I like to figure out what's really going on behind the headlines. Today I'm tackling a PR power dynamic more as a public service to help people spot the PR behind the moves and motives, behind three men who made them Okay, everyone you can see from the top and the photos that I am focusing on three guys, three guys who were in the news last week into this weekend we're calling the Grammy Awards part of last week. Now, disclaimer, right off the top. I'm talking about three men who are all individuals and their actions and behaviors that I'll be discussing should not be generalized to every powerful person or even all men. I think it's important to avoid making sweet bean generalizations about entire groups of people based on the actions of a few individuals. So the behavior that I'm going to describe in this podcast I just find concerning and it's often associated with a pattern of abuse of power and control that can manifest in many different ways, but I just wanted to highlight three of them and the fact that there are three guys. That's just a coincidence, but they are three very powerful men who happened to hit the news this week. So I just want to take a closer look at just some common tactics that powerful people, or people who perceive themselves to be powerful, might use to prop themselves up or to abuse other people, with the takeaway of helping people and showing them how you can apply some tactics to examples in your own life, because I'm nothing if not a teacher and a helper where I can All right.

Molly McPherson:

The first one is Donald Trump. Now, second disclaimer I do not want to make this political. This is not anti-Republican, this is not even anti-Trump. Oh gosh, the LA Times is calling me. Oh my gosh, I'm going to keep recording this podcast. I'll get back to that reporter later. I think they're tied into really his political tactic. I'll just say it. The man landed himself right back in the White House. It's working.

Molly McPherson:

I think Steve Bannon was a big reason why he's in the White House the first time around. I think he was primarily the reason. But what they found in Trump is he really did tell it like it is with thinking and that type of behavior does appeal to certain people. Just that straight talking, nonpolitical. I'm not a politician. I want to drain the swamp. It spoke to people. It connected with people. He was first elected.

Molly McPherson:

I gave him credit as a matter of fact at a keynote where I highlighted the communication styles of presidents and how it helped them into the White House, and I noted at that time that Trump was the Twitter president. He tweeted himself right into the White House, in my opinion, because he knew how to use it, and he still is masterful at communication. I am not going to take that from him at communication. I am not going to take that from him. Morally, I question a lot of the things that he does, but politically got where he got for a reason. Just as an aside, politically, I think the Democrats just did not know how to find their candidate in time and they did not. Democrats simply just don't know how to build a fan base. I think that's just what it comes down to. Sometimes you have singers who are Taylor Swift and sometimes you have singers who are not, and sometimes it's just the fan base. That is the difference between one talented singer versus the other. So the same holds true with politics, but in this case I just want to highlight a press conference from last week.

Molly McPherson:

I have a new sub stack. I want you to look for it, it's Molly McPherson. Pr breakdown and sub stack. I have different levels of membership. I do a weekly email in there, but I added a podcast like an audio element, my article. That I did. I just did a real quick article based on the American Airlines CEO and how quickly he responded to the crash. I of course talking about the regional jet that was involved in a midair collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter. That happened last week.

Molly McPherson:

My goodness, it really rattled me. I happened up really early that day and I had mentioned in a TikTok. I did several TikToks. I usually get up and listen to the Washington Post every morning. That's how I get myself out of bed, honestly. I'll listen to stories and that's how I wake up in the morning. I'll just put headphones in and listen to stories and I'll listen to a couple of them. To have that first headline be about.

Molly McPherson:

That plane crash was very jarring to me. I've had two stints living in the Washington DC area. I lived in Old Town for two stints. That was my airport. I lived moments away and, man, it was that easy. That was the easiest way to travel back when I lived in Old Town, my goodness. But it is so congested there. So it's shocking, but not surprising, that something like this would happen.

Molly McPherson:

But I was following the media coverage and I did watch the press conference at the White House. It stopped me in my tracks Like I was just going to have it on in the background, and I stopped everything I was doing because it just struck me how brittle and forceful it was for such a raw moment. Presidents are there in times like this, in briefings, to calm, to assure, to grieve. That's typically what a leader does in those situations. It is a moment to shine. So when Donald Trump took the podium, he faced significant backlash.

Molly McPherson:

This was a tragic mid-air collision over the Potomac River. It claimed 67 lives. But during that briefing, trump speculated that DEI initiatives, diversity, equity, inclusion at the Federal Aviation Administration, faa might have contributed to the crash, despite providing no evidence whatsoever. And the Defense Secretary Hegseth get up there and to have the key message of both their statements be about the incredible job that Donald Trump was doing and how we're going to get to the bottom of it. It creates this conspiracy-like thinking that it couldn't just be a tragic accident, okay, that it had to be something else and that someone else faulted. Again, not wanting to make this political, but I'm looking at it just from the motivational point of view of what's happening there Now. This is politics. It's politics, but it's politics driven by personality Pete Buttigieg. He was a former transportation secretary under Joe Biden. Trump referred to Buttigieg as a disaster and he blamed him and the other Democrats for allegedly mismanagement of the FAA because of DEI. Trump also blamed Joe Biden for relaxing FAA hiring standards in pursuit of diversity goals, even though we had no proof of this. But he's claiming that could have contributed to the crash just the hiring practices.

Molly McPherson:

Not to be forgotten that all of this is happening at a time when Trump, in his own words, is trying to quote drain the swamp. He is trying to push federal workers out of their jobs. That is what I'm honing in on. It doesn't matter if it was a Democrat or a Republican at that briefing, it doesn't matter to me, politically it doesn't matter, but I'm looking at the behavior. When there is an administration that, right out of the gate, jumping in and creating so much change, it creates this chaos and no one really knows what he's allowed to do, what he's not allowed to do.

Molly McPherson:

There are reports today, now that Elon Musk he's in the DGOE office now and he is getting into the back end of USAID and all the aid and all the money that goes to nonprofits and churches and he has access to so many people's information. And I also read online too, that he's doing this with a team of non-federal employees that are a bunch of young people. One is still in college and Trump just gave him the permission to do this. Damn, that's scary. That's scary stuff. But looking at the language that he's using, that Trump said that Buttigieg is to blame. So what I think this is more about is a diversionary tactic from someone who is just using power and the puppeteering of power, if you will. It's coming in right out of the gate and show you mean business. Now, in theory, there's nothing wrong with that right. If you're starting a new job, what do you do? I'm going to show up early. I'm going to show them what I've got. This is reckless and that is what some people are definitely saying. Pete Buttigieg called his remarks despicable and he accused Trump of lying.

Molly McPherson:

Instead of leading during a time of mourning which I agree, this was a time of mourning not to immediately blame the helicopter pilots, and not only, like those pilots have families things. I heard on Thursday was the father of the pilot, sam Lilly, who's 28 years old. He was engaged to be married. He's one of the pilots on the regional jet that was from an airline that's a subsidiary of American Airlines. His father was saying he's so sad he couldn't even sleep. He's just despondent over this, but his father was a career Army black pilot. I couldn't even believe that when I heard that. So just the tragedy. And then also the fact that the pilot, the female pilot's parents, refused to release her name. I give them credit for that. I wouldn't do it either, knowing the rhetoric that was happening out there. Now, of course the Army had to release it. It still came out and it was a woman. So that fit. That DEI claim certainly right in the Army, but it just doesn't work. It doesn't match and it's just. It's really sad and it's really tragic. So in that is it working? Like?

Molly McPherson:

Why is President Trump speaking that way? Division, rather than comforting grieving families. Representative Robin Kelly described it as dangerous, racist and ignorant, accusing him of prioritizing political agendas over leadership, and the NAACP President, derek Johnson, expressed dismay at Trump's use of the tragedy for political gain. Again, everyone's talking about the division and it's not just politicians, aviation experts, disability advocates. They're criticizing Trump for making these unfounded claims and the public perception on it was pretty harsh.

Molly McPherson:

There was a lot of media reaction to it and the media outlets really highlighted Trump's combative tone in these remarks, some comparing the response to his controversial handling of other crises like COVID-19. And they noted that his speculative accusations undermine his role as a unifying leader. And I think that is the takeaway. President Trump had a choice to be a leader or to be a divider. He chose to divide and that does diminish the qualities in a leader. There are virtues in leadership honesty, transparency. He's not showing that. He's not showing that.

Molly McPherson:

And if you look at his language for how he treats women and this is where I get into the poweredness of it and to make it personal and again, not political, but personal If you're someone who feels that you are secondary in relationships, maybe you might be the female in a relationship and think about that press conference and think about the blame and the pointing the fingers. Are you someone who's ever been treated that way by a male or a person in more power to you? I really struggle looking at Donald Trump as the politician because he makes politics personal. So it's hard not to look at him personally. It's hard and it doesn't mean that the Democrats are right or that Joe Biden was right. It just is what I'm noticing about that behavior.

Molly McPherson:

And just look at how he speaks about women and the use of the word, for instance, like nasty. He frequently uses it in contentious or critical context. It's typically women. He said that Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, as a nasty woman. He later denied it and said that it was taken out of context. But he's done it for plenty other women. He called Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, a nasty, vindictive, horrible person back in 2019. In 2016, during a presidential debate, trump interrupted Hillary Clinton, calling her such a nasty woman. She's such a nasty woman. Journalist called her nasty and a loser after she questioned him about voter suppression during a 2018 press conference in his first administration. There's Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts. He referred to her you could describe the racial aspect to that and somewhat also sexually charged. But then the National Cathedral bishop. In January of 2025, he called her remarks nasty in tone after she criticized his leadership choices during a sermon. Fun fact that, bishop, when I watched her deliver those remarks I thought the last time I watched an Episcopalian member of the clergy from the pulpit, it was a woman at my brother's first marriage to an Episcopalian member of the clergy from the pulpit.

Molly McPherson:

It was a woman at my brother's first marriage to an Episcopalian. So my Catholic mother, of course, had opinions. I remember her saying could we have a blessing by Catholic priests? Because I just know in her head she's thinking it's not real. Even Episcopalian does it. Back to that story. I'm watching her thinking, wow, the only other time I watched an Episcopalian from the pulpit it was someone who looked just like this and they talked the same. I remember the first time I heard this woman I thought, wow, I should pay attention to Episcopalian. I shouldn't dismiss this religion like I've been taught as a Catholic. What do you know? It was the same woman. I couldn't believe it. My mom told me that. Then my brother wrote to me and he said did you recognize her? So that was absolutely crazy. But Trump considered her being nasty and I did not consider her nasty at all, I think non-politically. She just spoke from a human perspective and I thought that was beautiful, which is really the point of this podcast this week.

Molly McPherson:

The next one is Ryan Reynolds. You may have seen that he was involved in a fake pap walk. He made headlines over the weekend because there was video footage of him signing autographs in New York City, but the authenticity of the interactions have been questioned like crazy online. Just Google Ryan Reynolds pap walk or stage pap walk, because so many people on social media speculated that the event was staged. For your consideration, it was filmed by Baccarat. That would be a pay-for-play paparazzi outfit. It happened at a. It was like a really good event that was designed, it appears, to push Deadpool posters.

Molly McPherson:

A lot of fans noticed that there was this identical blue tape like painter's tape that was used to affix the merchandise to cardboard. They were holding it almost like pizza, like pizza boxes, and the blue tape was seen on so many of them. And when he was signing, people captured the signature. It was just like a scribble. It wasn't even his name or even close to a name, because there are autographs that could be for collectors, that are official, that are official collectibles, but this wasn't. This was a literal scribble. Now, why would Ryan Reynolds do this? The autograph signing occurred amid a legal drama involving Blake Lively and actor Justin Baldoni. Some might speculate that it would be a public relations move. I'm going to say it was a public relations move and I'll stand by that.

Molly McPherson:

I have no proof other than what I viewed with my own eyes, but if you've been listening to this podcast and my tech talks my feeling about Ryan Reynolds, also out this week on Hulu there is the documentary that I sat down for, juju Chang from ABC News, who is a co-anchor with Nightline. The Nightline story ran on Friday night, I believe, because the plane crash was on Thursday. It was supposed to run Thursday but they pushed it to Friday and my guy, greg, he taped it for me. So I do have it on DVR but I didn't see it. But Greg and I watched the Hulu recording this weekend because my friend Liz in my group chat with my friends. She said so there I was looking for something to watch on streaming and there was Molly in this documentary. My other friends were like what? This was the documentary that I filmed two weeks ago when I went to ABC and it was a good interview, juju Chang, incredibly nice.

Molly McPherson:

Before we sat down to talk about Blake Lively, juju and the producer and I were talking about aging on camera. I think Juju's a couple years older than me, but the younger producer was talking about things to do with your face, what women have to do, and Juju and I were looking at each other. Wait, this is not easy and it's not. I think the documentary was great. I loved the soundbites that they used for me because I kept asking.

Molly McPherson:

Greg Greg's a news anchor, he's a reporter, he's been at it for decades. I trust him above anyone else. I can look at him and say yes, no, and if it's not good, he'll tell me. And he has. If I've ever been shaky on something, but he said oh, you nailed it. These were good and I could tell because I had a really good conversation with Juju. It was just like a good interview feel powerful in powerful situations. Now he was able.

Molly McPherson:

I'm going to give him credit, just like President Trump. I'm going to give Ryan Reynolds credit. He was a D-list, c-list actor. He got his status by dating Women helped him so strategically. He made some good moves there, dated my beloved Alanis Morissette, treated her like garbage allegedly, but dated her. They were engaged. When he broke up with her. She wrote a song called Torch and that album is an accounting of what it was like going through that breakup.

Molly McPherson:

He was also married to Scarlett Johansson and that relationship ended. People speculated when he was in Green Lantern with Blake Lively would be the timing of that marriage ending. Scarlett Johansson said that he was a very overpowering, controlling, jealous person, and that matches what a lot of people say about him. I said in last week's podcast episode I urge you to listen if you want to get more background on why I really feel this way is he's just someone who's using Blake Lively, who is the marginalized one in their relationship? She's over 10 years younger. She's been isolated, just like in many abusive marriages isolated financially, socially, geographically, professionally. Ryan gets all the rewards. Now it doesn't mean that she can't do anything. She got to do this movie. It ends with us, but she was doing it while Ryan was shooting Deadpool and I contend that Blake Lively got close to Justin Baldoni.

Molly McPherson:

She's home with four young kids and she's a mother. First, I'm sure, and I'm sure she cares about her role as mother greatly, but she misses her old life. She's a Hollywood kid, she's a nepo baby, she starred in a lot of movies and she probably did not like living in her house an hour outside of New York, next door to Martha Stewart, who's not a fan of Blake nor Ryan Reynolds and just sitting there while watching her husband traipse around the country, around the world, filming these movies and getting all the accolades and making all the money. As a mom of busy mom of four, I can speak from experience on this one. It's not easy being successful and really being at the top of your game when you have other people that you have to look out for. It's not easy.

Molly McPherson:

So I give Blake Lively that the downfall of what happened in August with that press run around the premiere of it Ends With Us and Deadpool. So much of that was organic, negative media publicity that was created by Blake Lively herself and was highly supported by her husband, ryan Reynolds, just trying to overtake everything and I know this somewhat. Inside they were doing a lot of the same things. Just anybody else does, including Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' PR team. They didn't do anything that no one else has done. Blake Lively destroyed her own reputation, but it was engineered by Ryan Reynolds because I think he was jealous of Justin Baldoni and he wanted to blow it up and he got what he deserved. So this staged paparazzi event and I'm calling it staged. It was so timed well, allegedly staged, but it was timed at the peak moment when they were fighting for their court case.

Molly McPherson:

Lively originally sued Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and attempting to damage her reputation, and Baldoni. He counter-sued Lively, reynolds and the New York Times for civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy. He's seeking $400 million in damages, and good for him. See, he's seeking $400 million in damages, and good for him. That is how you fight power, with power. You tell people you're not going to bully and intimidate me, because that's what Ryan Reynolds did, I think, bringing Taylor Swift in to a meeting. So it's Blake Lively, ryan Reynolds, taylor Swift in their penthouse and Ryan Reynolds is absolutely berating and dressing down Justin Baldoni. He got his in the end.

Molly McPherson:

Now will they live for another day, another movie? Of course, ryan Reynolds will continue being Ryan Reynolds, blake Lively will continue being Blake Lively, but this will stick with them. It will. And this buddy with Hugh Jackman Now Hugh Jackman's going to have to tone down his fake relationship alleged with Sutton Foster and these two, the buddy thing. They're going to have to tone that down now because people are on to them. Everything they're doing is calculated. And why? Because again, it's a powerful man who's being overpowered Jay-Z and I'm sneaking him in here because I just noticed something this morning when I was watching some of the clips from the Grammys that happened last night Beyonce, his wife, won Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter.

Molly McPherson:

I'm a little surprised by that, but I guess that means the Grammy community thought that she deserved it. I think some of it could be sympathy for what she's going through. Jay-z is tethered to Sean Diddy Combs right now and the legal case that he's dealing. Sean Diddy Combs now has been incarcerated for a while and Jay-Z's name has always been lurking in the shadows of these cases, lurking in the shadows of these cases. There is a lawyer out of Houston who is now going after Jay-Z, and I did. I wrote a Forbes article about that. I'll put a link in the show notes. But Jay-Z is now back on his heels and it really does call into question what Beyonce does Like.

Molly McPherson:

What did Beyonce know and when? What does she know right now? And also, what is Beyonce doing Now? She won this award and she's never won this award before. It's alluded her in the past. But she attended the event with Jay-Z and their third daughter, blue Ivy Carter. She was sitting between them.

Molly McPherson:

I watched it and it seemed awkward. If you happen, just Google it, see it, look at it on social media. It's awkward. I can see two parents sitting on opposite sides of their 13-year-old daughter. I see that. But why is your daughter there? Your daughter's there as the buffer and the daughter's there as a PR move? Because they want the public to see that they're parents and this helps Jay-Z more than anyone. I guess the jury's out. Is Beyonce a patsy in all this or is she part of the calculation to protect Jay-Z Right now? She is, but is she while she's winning this Grammy? Is she plotting to leave Jay-Z to separate herself legally, from not only the criminal aspect, allegedly, but from a marriage point of view and their money? They're moguls. They are music moguls. Right now, they are both using their daughter as PR collateral, if you will, to take the sting out of the reputation and the hit that Jay-Z took in December.

Molly McPherson:

Taylor Swift announcing the award and clinking glasses, jay-z, I don't know what I think of that move. Celebrate Beyonce, sure Taylor, I could get behind that, but no Clinking with Jay-Z. I know these things happen at a moment. They just happen and you're congratulating everyone. But the reason why I thought it was a little awkward is that Blue Ivy being the young daughter that she is, she didn't stand up to immediately congratulate her mom because she was being a 13-year-old. I'm not standing up, you can just see it. Beyonce was left to just stand up on her own and she genuinely looked stunned. And then Jay-Z's oh, oh, blue Ivy's not standing up. So I got to stand up and he just walked over to her and he said something in her ear that people on social media, like lip lip readers, were trying to figure out, and I don't. I didn't find anyone who could figure it out yet, but it wasn't like a congratulatory kiss of a close husband and wife. Let's just say there was a coldness there. I felt a coldness. He said something nice perhaps, but no, kiss, nothing. This should be a meaningful win for Beyonce, because she became the first black woman in 50 years to win a country music Grammy. On stage expressed her shock and gratitude. So it was all real, it was all authentic. But it is a PR move because Jay-Z is in serious legal trouble. He's using his wife and his daughter as protection. Why does this matter? Wife and his daughter as protection. Why does this matter?

Molly McPherson:

The context of power dynamics and relationships. So, whether it's American citizen, president, voter, actor, fan ticket buyer, or is it a personal relationship? Is it a romantic relationship? Is it your partner? Is it your parent? Is it a colleague? Whatever it is, some people have more power over the other and some people get that power over control, and I mentioned financial dependence and social isolation. Those are tactics that are used in a professional relationship. An employer may have more power of an employee because of their position or their resources. So when you start thinking about these types of power plays, consider all the aspects of relationships when you evaluate them.

Molly McPherson:

So there are six different ways that people use power to take control over situations using more manipulative means, and it could be from a powerful public figure or someone in your life, one there's gaslighting and that's manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity or perception of events. So for a colleague or a boss, or in the news, it could be a CEO denying making a sexist remark during a meeting, even though several people witnessed or heard it. It's the same thing as Trump claiming he never made comments like that or never said that when he did. They want to suggest that other people are misunderstanding the situation. That's what gaslighting is. It's not just deflecting an accusation, it's turning it around and blaming the person and make them think they're crazy for thinking it.

Molly McPherson:

Another tactic is coercion, and that's using threats, pressure or force to get someone to do something. That could be like a famous musician threatening to cancel a tour if a manager doesn't agree to a specific contract, or telling the public I'm not going to do this. If you keep attacking me or if the people on the internet keep attacking me, I'm not going to go on tour. I'm not going to do this. If you keep attacking me or if the people on the internet keep attacking me, I'm not going to go on tour. I'm not going to do this. It's they want to get people to comply. Look in your life for ways that people force you to comply. Again, I think President Trump does this in his demands now of federal workers. He wants all federal agencies to comply to DEI standards, removing them essentially from every department. There's a lot of or else in our politics right now, in our federal government, which is frightening.

Molly McPherson:

The coercion happened with Justin Baldoni. The coercion happened with Justin Baldoni. Brian Reynolds allegedly was threatening Justin Baldoni and he was pressuring him, like by having Taylor Swift in the room with Blake Lively. It was pressure. He had the same agent as Ryan and Blake. Ryan Reynolds likely pressured the agent to drop Justin Baldoni. Justin Baldoni's podcast co-star also dropped him.

Molly McPherson:

Guess what she used to do work with Ryan Reynolds. She maybe felt pressure too with us stood by Blake Lively during the premiere of it Ends With Us when Justin Baldoni was literally taken to the basement, stuck in the basement, probably coerced. She was pressured into doing that and there's something to be said for her coming off of social media, deleting her Instagram. She doesn't want to play that game anymore. She wants to take herself out.

Molly McPherson:

Another tactic I mentioned before is isolation, that's, separating someone from their support system, controlling their communication and limiting their social interactions. I 100% think that Ryan Reynolds is doing this to Blake Lively. That's just what the dynamic in their marriage is and I think this whole it ends with us blew up because he was jealous. It happened during the writer's strike and that's the reason why Ryan Reynolds came home in the middle of the shoot and while Blake was home in the middle of the shoot, all of a sudden, the writing became different. The demands became different. Blake Lively was demanding to see the dailies. Everything moved and Justin Baldoni showing that evidence in the text and the voice notes that he's putting out there for the public. It's just all about controlling.

Molly McPherson:

President Trump again is going to do that For isolation. President Trump does that with his enemies. He'll isolate. Jd Vance got isolated during the election season. He was not happy with JD Vance. He is in the fold right now, but I predict JD Vance will be out of the fold soon. Jd Vance doesn't help Donald Trump in any way, so I don't see him in there. Duffy helps him as a transportation secretary. Hegseth helps him right now, but I think if there's one misstep with Hegseth, he's out and then Trump will isolate him.

Molly McPherson:

Trump has a way. Like John Kelly, general John Kelly, his former chief of staff If you turn against Trump, you are going to be isolated from Trump. That's just a tactic. That happens. Look at what's happening with Sean Combs and Jay-Z, who they isolate. How do they treat Kanye? How do they treat 50 Cent, like Jamie Foxx coming out and making really deep accusations against Sean Combs about how he was treated?

Molly McPherson:

Trivializing is just another way. It helps the gaslighting. It's just brushing off concerns as nothing and people minimizing you, saying you're being too selfish, you're being too sensitive, you're overreacting. Look at what Ryan Reynolds did in Deadpool when his Nice Pool character was based off of Justin Baldoni. He was trivializing Justin Baldoni's approach to his connection to females. That nice pool character trivialized Justin Baldoni's views towards women. Now, yeah, justin probably used a lot of it as part of his brand. But it's very hard to make something your brand. It's very difficult to do when you don't believe it. And if you watch that Hulu documentary about Blake and Ryan and I encourage you to do it for this reason for this podcast you can see, really, I think, who Justin really is.

Molly McPherson:

But what about personally? If this is happening to you? One just have some self-awareness and reflection. The mirror test. I talk about this with my clients a lot. Understand your own bias, your own beliefs and power dynamics in your life. Do you use them? Challenge yourself If you do change. Also, promote open communication, ethical boundaries. Do that in the workplace. Do it in your life. If you have problems with your partner, your spouse, establish clear and respectful communication channels. Help create a safe space where both of you feel comfortable voicing concerns and setting boundaries Also challenge harmful behaviors and power imbalances.

Molly McPherson:

Speak up against injustice and inequality, even in small situations where it helps to create a culture where abuse is less likely to occur. Or stand up in front of the pulpit. If you're an Episcopalian bishop and you seriously worry about people in the country who are worried about their livelihood, about citizenship moved from their families, about their jobs, stand up for that. Support that and support and empower others. Offer support and encouragement to people who are experiencing abuse. If you see it, help it. Spot it. Is it someone you know, someone you care about, someone you love? Is it your kids? Is it your friend? Is it your coworker? Empower other people to speak out and seek help where they can make a difference. Oh, there's nothing more effective to break down power than to mobilize power on the other side of it. And then, lastly, seek help if you need it and report abuse. Know how to report abuse. I have a link in the show notes for how you can do it. If this episode resonates with you. Understand the resources available to victims, because that's what can be crucial in stopping harmful patterns. Go to human resources. Stand up for yourself. Do what you need to do. All right, everyone. If you found this episode insightful, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, share it with anyone who's going through any type of situation like this.

Molly McPherson:

I also want to let you know that I am now on Substack. I have a weekly email that goes out and, like I mentioned earlier, last week I added an audio element, which I love doing. I think I'm going to keep doing that, but I do post frequent updates on there. I'm taking my Patreon and I'm moving it over to Substack because Substack has more features, so I'm going to be starting my lives again as well. So, if you join Substack, I do have a free feature on Substack, but I also have a membership on Substack as well. But I also have a membership on Substack as well. You will receive access to these lives that I have on YouTube and you'll just notice more content on Substack. So I have a link in the show notes, but I encourage you to head over there. You will see all my weekly podcasts on Substack as well and feedback from fans.

Molly McPherson:

I just gave you a little taste of it in this podcast episode. I'm going to have a little Ask Molly section, where we can talk about PR in the public space, but we can also talk about PR for people. Do you think that there's a PR move being used against you? It's me moving into my lifestyle self-help area Like a Dear Abby, if you're familiar. I want to give people feedback as well, because this job in crisis management gives me so much insight into human behavior from a professional point of view, but darn it if it does not apply to personal as well. All right, everyone. Thanks for listening to the podcast this week. Come back for next week's big story. Bye for now.

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