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The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson
Ever wonder what's really happening behind those viral headlines and celebrity PR disasters? Step into the war room with crisis communications expert Molly as she dissects the week's biggest reputation battles, media meltdowns, and brand controversies.
Each week, Molly peels back the curtain on headline-making moments to reveal the strategic chess moves that shape public perception. From corporate crises to celebrity comebacks, she breaks down what works, what fails, and what it means for the future of reputation management.
Whether you're a PR professional, business leader, or simply fascinated by the art of reputation management, join Molly every week for the conversation everyone in PR is talking about. Subscribe now to master the strategies shaping modern reputation—one breakdown at a time.
The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson
Houston, We Have a PR Problem (And the Delicate Art of Proving You're Right)
A rocket full of high-profile women launched into space, but the real spectacle might’ve been the PR machine that sent it there. From Katy Perry floating with a daisy to Oprah crying on the ground, every moment of Blue Origin’s all-women flight felt like it was choreographed to go viral. It looked empowering on the surface, but the optics raised a bigger question: when the narrative feels off, who gets to push back—and how?
This episode is a smart, strategic walkthrough of how to correct the record without igniting a firestorm. Using a therapist-backed framework from relationship expert Dr. Abby Medcalf, this breakdown lays out the emotional and tactical roadmap to tell someone they’re wrong in a way they’ll actually hear. Because calling out the spin doesn’t have to burn everything down—if you know how to land the message.
What You'll Learn:
- The three-step framework for correcting someone without causing a blow-up
- Why even seasoned communicators get stuck defending bad stories
- How to separate honest feedback from ego-driven pushback
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© 2025 The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson
One, two, three take us space.
Molly McPherson:Gail? Why? Why this? Why strap yourself into Jeff Bezos' giant metaphor of a rocket for what clearly looks like a high-gloss publicity stunt? What made you wake up one morning and say you know what I need? I need a little space travel with Katy Perry and a billionaire's girlfriend. No, this isn't shade, it is genuine curiosity. Okay, there's a lot of side eye here. Let's talk about this space flight, shall we? Welcome to the PR Breakdown? I'm your host, molly McPherson, and, for the record, I was not invited into space, was it my bixie cut Not enough hair to float dramatically in zero gravity. Not enough influencer energy. I can't sing. I'm not going on tour.
Molly McPherson:Either way, this episode is a mashup of strategy, psychology and a touch of chaos. In this episode I'm asking the question how do you tell someone they're wrong without setting everything on fire? Recently I brought in friend of the podcast, dr Abby Medcalf. She is a therapist, a relationship expert, who knows how to make even the most defensive boss client you to. Okay, I'm listening, and bring it to life. I thought what better case study than the Blue Origin all-women space flight, aka Jeff Bezos and his publicity machine launching into space, branding optics, possibly overcompensation. But I'll walk you through Abby's framework as we walk through an imaginary, slightly cheeky but sincerely curious conversation with Gayle King, after listening to her defend this spaceflight.
Gayle King:So what do you think when people say, oh, it's frivolous. Number one, they call it a ride, which I find very irritating because they never say men went for a ride. What do you say to people who think that this was frivolous or just a ride? You know, I think the message that it sends is very, very powerful. And the people that say that, by the way, weren't they? And I don't work for the origin, but I think I was one of these people that go. I don't know why we got to do this. Until you educate yourself and see what is happening there, I think you'll have a very different perspective.
Molly McPherson:Ask her really why she's defending it. I think it's a lesson that anyone can use, because, you know me, I love offering lessons to communicators, but also people who communicate in life, because even the best communicators can end up defending the indefensible when the story gets muddled. First, let's start out with some facts. When you go to Wikipedia now, under April 2025, blue Origin, jeff Bezos he will be the person behind launching its first all-women crew to the edge of space. The crew included Lauren Sanchez, the mission organizer, also philanthropist. What Journalist, former journalist and, yes, jeff Bezos' fiance. Gayle King, cbs journalist, bff Oprah she's turning 70 and reaching for the stars. There is Katy Perry, who is a oh gosh, wikipedia, my color pop icon. I call her a slightly washed up one. She's going on tour more on that later and her tickets are having trouble selling. But hey, nothing like launching into space to launch those ticket sales. Aisha Bowe she's an aerospace engineer and the first Bahamian woman now in space. Amanda Nguyen she's a civil rights activist and scientist and when she tells a story about why she wanted to take this trip into space, she speaks about justice. She's a victim of sexual violence. It's a very sad story. In an interview she said that she always wanted to be an astronaut, but fighting for justice for women who have been abused came first, so that's very noble. And then also Carrie Ann Flynn, who's a film producer.
Molly McPherson:Jeff Bezos is no dummy. He's not just going to send up a crew of online influencers and people who could get him publicity. That's a powerful lineup. There were real firsts here and there was real inspiration, but it was also a textbook PR formation. Jeff hit all the demo boxes science, activism, celebrity media, his girlfriend. He wanted to make it historic. He wanted to get the Wikipedia annotation. He wanted to make history, but he also wanted it to trend on TikTok Instagram. But he also wanted it to trend on TikTok Instagram and in the news cycle. And then there was the rocket which, I'm sorry, looks like it was designed in a frat house in their marketing meeting. The symbolism is not subtle.
Molly McPherson:Let's just say I know this is an audio podcast, but just Google it if you haven't seen it. And did I watch the broadcast on YouTube. But if you haven't seen it and did I watch the broadcast on YouTube the Blue Origin broadcast getting ready to launch, I did. Katy Perry, okay. So her being interviewed by an all-female broadcast crew acting like this is the first mission into space, honestly, and all it is to me is one big promotional video. That's all it looks like.
Molly McPherson:She sang the song what a Wonderful World midair. She was also holding a daisy for her daughter, daisy. In an interview before launch she talked about how important this mission was. I don't think her husband, orlando Bloom, was there. Is he her husband or just boyfriend? They have a daughter, daisy. She just talked about how important it was to Daisy and went on and on and on about how important it was. Also, her mom, when she came off the flight, she said in the interview. She said oh, you know, this is so important to my mom because the person interviewer said and your mom was here and she's like I don't know where she is, like, is that like? She came off and like launched into her mother's arm. No, she came off, kissed the ground, but she also launched the set list to her upcoming tour. I think that just ends the argument right there.
Molly McPherson:She launched and then launched. It wasn't about her daughter, it wasn't about space exploration, it certainly wasn't about her mother. It was publicity. And Lauren Sanchez, oh my gosh. So she in the broadcast was bringing up one of the color commentators up in her helicopter because she's a helicopter pilot, her father was a pilot and she's wearing everything is tight. With Lauren Sanchez, everything is tight and her hair is flowing everywhere. Any woman watching this footage and really the whole footage of the flight all you want is a little tie to put it back, to put the hair back, because there's hair everywhere. Jeff Bezos needs a big rocket ship to feel like a man. Lauren Sanchez needs tight clothes and her hair and her lips and it is so, so, so difficult to take her seriously. This is not to knock her looks or her beauty or anything like that. It's the juxtaposition of both when the theatrics, the choreographic nature to it, the wardrobe as well. But then there's Gayle King and Gayle honestly she doesn't want to be up there. She doesn't want to do this. Cbs struggling, massive cutbacks Well at all, the morning shows. They're all cutting back. She doesn't want to do it. But she in the interviews talked about her kitchen cabinet.
Molly McPherson:Three people I asked about this space exploration Her daughter, her son and then, of course, oprah. Now we could not have a Blue Origins launch without Oprah somewhere in the mix. She was definitely there on land crying. They had footage of Oprah crying. I know there's some people out there, women out there, who are defending this and saying this is important for women and they're hating on all the other women who are hating on this flight. And I'm a commentator on calling PR campaigns when I see it, and let's just be honest, you cannot have an argument about how important this flight was to women without mentioning that Katy Perry launched her set list during the flight. Okay, I stand by that. This is the hill I will die on. This is the spaceship I will go into space on. It was all for publicity, for blue origins. Jeff Bezos who else happens to be in the news nowadays? Musk who else is a billionaire who has a fixation with space? Musk, this was all about Bezos, and if you want to come at me, that's fine. I respect you. I don't disrespect the argument towards women at all. I respect it, but this is not the argument about respecting women. Hey, if there's one hair tie in space, maybe, maybe, but all the hair flying, no.
Molly McPherson:In this episode, I want to walk you through Dr Abby's three steps for how we can walk through conflict when you know they're wrong. This could be a boss. This could be a colleague. This could be a situation that I had to give one of my daughters yesterday. This could be a partner, someone in your life. This could be a parent, a kid, whatever it is. Whomever you need to tell that they're wrong. These are three steps that, wow, they work. These are three steps that, wow, they work.
Molly McPherson:Dr Abby delivered this advice to me just yesterday in a live interview on my Substack. You can find me at Molly McPherson on Substack. I often do lives on there. This was my first interview, which was a whole lot of fun. I posted it to my Substack so you can watch the entire interview with Dr Abby. She's going to be coming back and speaking in my members-only section in the future because everyone with Dr Abby. She's going to be coming back and speaking in my members-only section in the future because everyone loves Dr Abby.
Molly McPherson:I'm going to walk through the three steps that she provided, but I'm going to use it in the premise of me having a conversation with Gayle King about why this probably wasn't the best mission to be a part of, or one that you at least wanted to defend. She could still do it and be a part of it, but defending it. That's where I have the issue with Gail on this. Telling someone that they're wrong often feels like war, because truth rarely lands softly, even when said kindly. There is a cost of defensiveness, whether it's in leadership or politics and PR crisis management. Take a listen to Dr Abbey explain why telling someone they're wrong feels like an attack.
Molly McPherson:I always want to tell people is that being attacked is in the eye of the beholder. We feel attacked when we feel like we're not valued, and we feel like we're not valued when we think you disagree with us.
Molly McPherson:If this is an interview with your boss, you are not going to do it in their office, with them sitting at the desk, with the desk in front of them. The barrier then you. That's the normal leadership subordinate setup. You want to be someplace else, walking down a hall outside. You won't want to have this conversation in a place where you typically have arguments. So Dr Abbey says you want to prep. She said it's like painting a room. You don't just buy paints and brushes and start painting. No, the prep of a room takes a lot of work. You are buying the paint and you're buying the paintbrushes, but you're also buying the painter's tape and you're taping it off. You also have to pick up the color. Painting is the easier part. You just slap on the paint and go from there. The same with this conversation you have to prep it.
Molly McPherson:Let's say I meet Gayle King and she wants to talk to me about the public reaction to the Blue Origin flight. She received a lot hires me. It doesn't mean everything I say to my client about their crisis management is going to be well-received. Most often it's not for the reason that people are defensive With Gail. We're going to be walking down the street, perhaps lattes in hands, comfortable shoes, zero media presence, no Oprah, no Oprah, just me and Gail. We're having a conversation. Okay, Gail, you wanted to talk about the Blue Origin flight. This won't be a critique, at least not in the internet sense. I mean, I'm not going to come at you, but let's talk about the story. I want to understand it because I respect you. I want us both to walk away from this feeling clear. I'm genuinely curious about what you got out of it, but I'm curious what you think on it. There needs to be mutual respect. Then we move to step two, and that's setting the intention.
Molly McPherson:Number two is to say out loud hey, is this a good time to talk to you about X, right? And then wait for an answer yes or no? They'll say yes or no. My goal is to find a solution together that really fits for both of us. I value you. I want you to feel that for me. It will only be to me a good solution if we're both on the same page about it.
Molly McPherson:You know what, gail? My goal here is to figure this out together. I want to understand where you're coming from and then I'll share where things didn't quite land for me, which might translate into the public sentiment, which is resoundingly negative. Because, gail, I value you. I know you don't put your name on fluff, but I also know you're up for anything, so I can absolutely see why you landed in space. So I can absolutely see why you landed in space. I value you and I want to hear what brought you there. What an opportunity. Tell me about it. It's all about the process.
Molly McPherson:What I'll do like, let's say I've got a CEO I'm talking to, right, and he let's say it's a he and he is up in it, okay, and I'll just stop and I'll say scale one to six right now. How are you doing so? Always use Got one to three and you got four, five, six, so I know where you are. So I'll say six You're like super anxious about what's going on right now. One is you feel really calm and collected about this? Six is you feel like your message was really heard. People really get what you're saying? Six you feel really confident about what you're saying? One you're not so sure. Right, I just find out where they are. But what you're doing is you're getting people out of the past and out of the future and into the present, because the present is where they could actually think clearly. Again, they can't think clearly when they're in fight, flight or freeze, when they're in their amygdala or people pleasing you know we call it fawning when they're in that you can't help them.
Molly McPherson:We want to ask questions, bring the conversation into the present and interrupt the ego spin cycle. When people are on the defensive, it's ego because they're afraid. It's fear, they're worried about their standing, whether it's in a job, whether it's in the relationship, they're worried. That's when you start asking them the questions. So, gail, let me ask you on a scale of one to six six being incredible how was the launch? She'd likely say six. Then my next question would be okay, same scale when are you at with how the launch was received? How do you think people received it? Then she'll give a number. I'm thinking Gail would say three, when really she knows it's probably somewhere between one and two. Gail, what do you want people to take from it? When you floated up there and Katy Perry was holding that daisy, what was that moment supposed to mean? Maybe then Gail's going to tell me I wanted young girls to see that age doesn't define ambition, that joy matters. I could say wow, gail, I love that. But here's where I got stuck.
Molly McPherson:From the outside, people may have looked at this as a Jeff Bezos project. It felt a little curated. Yes, you have engineers and scientists, and then Katy Perry like doing zero gravity spins and we saw the made for TikTok moments singing, launching the set list. To a lot of people it looked like a billionaire's idea of a branded empowerment launch Less NASA, more Netflix, especially considering that so many people are hurting right now, so many people are losing their jobs, so many people are worried about the economy. How much is it to go into space?
Molly McPherson:I read somewhere well, I wouldn't say that Now I'm being sarcastic and now I'm being Molly on the podcast. This is my conversation with Gail Gail. I read somewhere some people were saying that it costs like $500,000 to launch one person in that rocket ship. You have to pay $150,000 deposit, which I assume none of you paid. Right, you know, with a number like that, with people hurting, while a presidency might likely be launching us towards a recession or a depression, do you see why people might feel it was a little off? Then she might say well, yes, then Gail would give her spin. Now Gail the journalist would probably come in and start thinking a little more clearly on this. Then I would ask Gail, what would you say to people who saw it as a publicity move and not progress? Here's what Dr Abbey says is to let them tell you what's wrong.
Molly McPherson:You have to remember that you have to connect to correct, which means you have to have some connection first to correct someone. We don't want to change things for someone we think is mad at us or doesn't like us or disagrees with us.
Molly McPherson:They know. You just need to get them present enough to say it. Gail needs to be in a safe enough space where she can recognize why the backlash was there. She can admit it because you know she's thinking this. Tom Cruise, daniel Caffey he knows Colonel Jessup Jack Nicholson wants to say that he ordered the code red. He wants to say it. I'm Daniel Caffey, gayle King is Colonel Jessup.
Molly McPherson:Gayle will say something like this I get it, I really do. Then she'll add but the messages I got from the girls afterward that made it worth it. Was it packaging? Was it polished? Sure, but the impact, that was real. You're going to get her to understand it from both sides.
Molly McPherson:It's not a takedown of a person, it's just finding that safe space right in the middle. Gail is absolutely going to understand that it was a PR stunt, but it was also inspiring for a lot of women and girls. I don't know who they are, but there are plenty there. Both can be true. It's never about telling someone that they're wrong for the sake of telling them that they're wrong so you can be right. It's about offering feedback, create space, set intention and ask questions that bring them into the moment, because the goal isn't to win, it's to connect, and sometimes the hardest thing isn't saying the truth, it's saying connect. And sometimes the hardest thing isn't saying the truth, it's saying it to someone you admire or someone you care about, or someone you love, without making them feel like you're launching a missile, even if the whole thing kind of looked like one.
Molly McPherson:That's all for this week. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the podcast. Remember you can follow me in my new content hub, substack. You can find me at mollymcphersonprbreakdownmedia. That will bring you to my Substack publication. Thanks so much for listening. Bye for now.
