The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Hosted by www.mollymcpherson.com

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Nov 2026

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About the show

Every mess has a move behind it. Crisis communication expert Molly McPherson takes apart the viral scandals, celebrity meltdowns, and corporate disasters dominating the headlines, showing you exactly where they went wrong so you never do. She's the historian of the moves, and once you can name the play, you can see it coming.

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November 7, 202628 min

Spot the Spin: 2026 Election Edition

The day after the 2026 midterms, I wanted to look at the responses, not the results. Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott in Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton, Troy Jackson beat Susan Collins in Maine, and Democrats won big across the map. For me, the more interesting story is what people said next. It started the day before the vote, when Trump stood at the Reflecting Pool and said that "for some reason, the sitting president doesn't win the midterms." House Speaker Mike Johnson made the same argument on election night. I read that as blaming the calendar: lower expectations so the loss reads as history, not a verdict. We compare it to 2010, when Barack Obama called his party's loss a "shellacking." Then election night itself. Trump went after Jessica Tarlov's voice, blamed Fox News and a 27% ratings drop with no source behind it, blamed Greg Abbott, and blamed gas prices. I share how these moves line up with history, from Joseph McCarthy and "Have you no decency?" to Spiro Agnew's "nattering nabobs of negativism." We also look at Anthony Constantino's victory speech in New York's 21st, the early fraud claims, and the candidates who conceded with grace, including Roger Marshall in Kansas. At the end: JD Vance's post-election message about the Iran war, and what it may say about where he goes next. The PR Breakdown is a weekly look at the PR moves and the spin behind the headlines, from a crisis communication and reputation management consultant. This episode was recorded live on November 4. 00:00 Spot the Spin: election edition 01:10 The Reflecting Pool speech 02:05 The scoreboard 06:15 Blame the calendar 08:45 Obama's "shellacking" 09:22 Blame the commentator 11:20 "The lying media" 12:31 McCarthy and "Have you no decency?" 13:52 The "root out" rhetoric 15:20 Blame the network 17:38 Blame gas prices 18:37 "Nattering nabobs of negativism" 19:13 The sore winner 22:07 The early fraud claim 23:51 The courage to concede 24:57 Al Gore, 2000 25:52 Why Truth Social doesn't land 26:06 JD Vance's post-election message 27:40 Closing Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

October 30, 202622 min

Spot the Spin: Ramaswamy, Vance and Amy Griffin

Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, JD Vance telling Republicans to stop whining about it, and Amy Griffin's lawsuit: three stories this week, and I break down the moves in each. The Ohio governor's race is a week from Election Day. Ramaswamy's campaign ran an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur, and at first would not say whether the ad was theirs. I go through what the ad leaves out, the double down, the quiet edit that dropped the tent line, and why renaming the topic is a move you can spot in your own life. Then JD Vance, who told reporters that whether the ad was appropriate ""is not really my concern"" and later told fellow Republicans to stop whining about it. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the ad ""deeply, deeply troubling,"" and Rep. Ashley Hinson said ""absolutely the wrong tone."" I share what I hear from clients when they blame the critics, and why I think reasonable people speaking reasonably is a signal. Then Amy Griffin and her memoir The Tell: the New York Times investigation, the classmate's lawsuit, Griffin's defamation suit in response, and why a first move of ""legal"" tells me there is something to the story. Both suits are allegations in pending litigation, and I am not saying anyone is guilty. I also touch on the Gosselin family story that is trending. The PR Breakdown is a weekly look at the PR moves and the spin behind the headlines, from a crisis communication and reputation management consultant. This episode was recorded live. 00:00 Spot the Spin 00:59 The Ohio governor's race 01:35 The ad featuring Acton's estranged mother 02:58 What the ad leaves out 03:23 Ramaswamy confirms the ad 03:53 The double down 05:37 Renaming the topic 05:52 The quiet edit 06:44 JD Vance: ""not really my concern"" 07:11 The deflection and the pivot 08:05 Vance at an Ohio rally 09:11 Why ""not my concern"" is a move 09:39 What I hear from clients 10:19 ""Focus on the facts"" 10:31 DeWine, Hinson and a bridge too far 11:37 Amy Griffin and The Tell 12:41 The New York Times investigation 13:22 The lawsuits 14:05 Why legal first is a tell 15:56 More on the Griffin story 19:26 The Gosselin family story 22:02 Closing Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

October 23, 202631 min

Mel Robbins and Prince Harry: Spot the Spin

Mel Robbins is on the cover of PEOPLE this week, and Prince Harry told GQ that the most important thing is to reconcile with his family. They are very different stories, and I see the same move in both. PEOPLE's cover story opens with Mel Robbins in her Vermont kitchen, wearing a name tag made from blue painter's tape. The headline says she's proud of the person she's become. I read the whole profile as an exercise in relatability: if she relates to you, you'll trust her. Relatability sells the transformation. We go through the story line by line, why she needs that framing right now, and what to watch for when anyone online tells you they were once exactly where you are. Then Prince Harry: his GQ interview with Zach Baron, PEOPLE's write-up, and his spokesperson's clarification that the "some people" line was not directed at his family. I share why I read the reconcile message as spin, and why having to clarify an interview that quickly is a comms problem of its own. The PR Breakdown is a weekly look at the PR moves and the spin behind the headlines, from a crisis communication and reputation management consultant. This episode was recorded live on October 21. 00:00 Spot the Spin 00:52 Why Mel Robbins gets a reaction from me 01:50 Tony Robbins and the self-help boom 03:04 PEOPLE's Mel Robbins cover story 03:44 The photographs 05:08 The painter's tape name tag 06:12 The quotes 07:39 Why does she need to spin? 09:54 The undercurrent 11:03 The Let Them origin story 12:00 Pivot and AI 12:57 Here's the spin: relatability 14:26 Proud of who she's become 15:49 Can you be the next Mel Robbins? 16:43 Spot the transaction 18:16 Harry and Meghan back in the UK 18:45 The Nottingham walkabout 20:08 Prince Harry's MasterClass on grief 21:50 Brand sweet spots 22:01 Prince Harry's GQ interview 23:24 The spokesperson's clarification 24:12 Here is the spin 25:13 Relatable family rifts 26:57 Borrowed authority 27:06 Will the family bring him back in? 27:50 Closing and the October 29 Field Guide training Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

October 16, 202635 min

Kelly Clarkson vs Art of Play: Why I Believe Her

Kelly Clarkson went to Art of Play in Brooklyn, asked about a singing mechanical bird named Molly, and left feeling talked down to. She posted about it that afternoon, and she named the store. The shop answered with a statement, then a longer follow-up full of details. I believe Kelly Clarkson, and the reasons are in the shop's own response. When people are wrong, they tend to offer details instead of accountability. Contempt is hard to hide, too. People know the exact moment someone decides they can't afford something. We look at the Muck Rack numbers (more than 2,000 articles in three days, with almost as much positive sentiment as negative), why the story peaked on a holiday weekend, whether Kelly should have named the store, what the shop should have said, and what any small business can take from it the next time a bad review lands. At the end: the new White House press secretary's first briefing, and Kimberly Guilfoyle's statement resigning as ambassador to Greece, in which she calls the allegations against her false. The PR Breakdown is a weekly look at the PR moves and the spin behind the headlines, from a crisis communication and reputation management consultant. This episode was recorded live on October 13. 00:00 Why this story, and why today 01:44 Kelly Clarkson's post 02:39 What Muck Rack shows 04:20 Two lines of sentiment 06:06 The bird named Molly 07:56 Art of Play's first statement 09:40 Why it peaked on a holiday weekend 11:23 The business behind the store 12:13 Do I believe Kelly Clarkson? 14:59 Should she have named the store? 16:43 Her reply 18:25 The five-minute visit 19:16 Details instead of accountability 20:07 Crisis lessons for both sides 21:51 Should Kelly respond? 22:45 Is all publicity good publicity? 25:29 What the shop should have said 26:20 Write it, then wait 27:05 A new press secretary's first briefing 28:55 Kimberly Guilfoyle and Greece 30:39 The resignation statement 34:06 Receipts 35:00 Closing Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

October 9, 202641 min

Emily Gellis's Court-Ordered Apology and Mikayla Nogueira on Jay Shetty

Mikayla Nogueira sat down with Jay Shetty and admitted something most creators who got rich on the platform won't. She had no followers, and her first videos were still getting thousands of views. She noticed the algorithm right away. Molly McPherson explains why that matters, and why Jay let it go right by. The episode opens with Emily Gellis and Tanya Zuckerbrot, the founder of F-Factor. Zuckerbrot sued Gellis for defamation and cyberstalking in 2020, and the case settled in September 2026. Per Zuckerbrot's October 5 press release, Gellis will pay $240,000 at $500 a month over 40 years and keep a video apology pinned to her Instagram for three and a half years. Zuckerbrot's statement says the settlement "represents accountability." Molly reads the apology and the release, looks at the media coverage in Muck Rack, and answers the question The New York Times' Katherine Rosman put to her: will a case like this make people who get online hate want to sue everyone? She doesn't think so. Both stories come back to one question. When does criticism stop being criticism? Molly calls online criticism liquid gold, and she explains why a creator who labels every critic a hater walks into a trap. 00:00 Two stories about followers 02:49 The apology video on my feed 04:05 The October 5 press release 05:36 The 2020 creator boom 10:40 Rachel Hollis and relatability 11:10 The social contract 12:32 Tit for tat 13:22 Not a troll. An aggrieved follower 14:31 From grievance to campaign 14:46 The New York Times question 17:42 When does criticism stop being criticism? 19:11 What Muck Rack shows 22:55 Not a cautionary tale 23:35 Mikayla Nogueira 24:54 My own TikTok boost 26:08 The Jay Shetty interview 28:43 "Try being an influencer" 29:25 Criticism is liquid gold 30:35 The algorithm made her 31:24 She admitted it 33:45 The accent 36:17 Online hate and her looks 38:35 The trap 39:58 Closing Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

October 2, 202642 min

Cornell 7: Every Statement Made It Worse but One

People are calling it the Cornell 7 case. In twelve days, Cornell, the Tompkins County district attorney, the mayor of Ithaca and Governor Kathy Hochul all put out statements about the same night in 2024. A former student, identified only as Jane Doe, has filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a fraternity house. No one has been charged. Molly McPherson reads the statements one at a time and names the move in each. Cornell's first statement says federal privacy law stops it from saying more. Molly looks up the law. Since 1998, FERPA has allowed a college to release the name, violation and sanction of a student found responsible for sexual assault, and Cornell chose not to. Cornell's second statement calls the criticism of its punishments irresponsible and says it will make survivors feel less safe. Molly calls that the blame flip, and asks the women who write these statements whether they could put their name on that line. She also takes apart a defense lawyer's hair follicle test, the DA's complaint about the calls to his office, the mayor's moratorium and the Hochul statement that hit every note. She runs all of them through the same test. Own it, explain it, promise it. She opens with why this one is personal. A professional crisis has a personal crisis baked into it, and the moves people use in statements are the moves they use in life. Molly is a crisis communication and reputation management consultant, APR, and the host of The PR Breakdown. This episode was recorded live. 00:00 A personal crisis inside a professional one 01:51 What a move is 04:38 Guardrails, and what is only alleged 07:27 Cornell's first statement 08:53 The privacy shield 09:52 FERPA and the 1998 rule 12:32 Cornell won't, we will 13:09 Cornell's second statement 15:33 People don't like truth tellers 16:54 The blame flip 17:42 The New York Post headline 20:08 Own it, explain it, promise it 20:22 The defense lawyer's details 22:56 The hair follicle test 24:23 What would you do, Conor? 25:19 "A money grab" 26:27 Blame the victim 28:22 The DA's statement 29:34 The wah excuse 31:09 Apologize to your staff 31:48 Publishing her sworn statement 33:31 Nine pages to prove he was right 34:18 The statement I would have written 35:06 The mayor of Ithaca 37:26 Governor Kathy Hochul 37:53 Cornell's letter, finally signed 39:10 The only line that matters 39:28 What changed 40:36 Emotion and empathy 41:59 Closing Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

September 25, 202646 min

King Charles and Charles Spencer: Name the Move

Buckingham Palace does not comment on books. It has said so for a hundred years. Last week it said it again, inside a comment on a book. Charles Spencer, Diana's brother, writes that Charles sounded "giddily elated" on a phone call after Diana died. That is his account, and nobody has independently backed it up. The Palace answered with 42 words about how "the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason." Molly McPherson reads the statement line by line and finds three tells: it breaks its own rule in its first clause, every word doing damage is a kind one, and there is no denial anywhere in it. She names the move the pat on the head: answering an accusation by going after the person's memory instead of the claim, in the language of sympathy. Then she looks at why silence no longer protects the royal family, what already fixed a crisis about this same woman in 1997, how Trump reacts when the press pool takes his microphone away, Piers Morgan's legal growl, and what the Muck Rack numbers say about who is taking the hit. She finishes with the statement she would have written instead. Find the uncle. Molly is a crisis communication and reputation management consultant, APR, and the host of The PR Breakdown. This episode was recorded live on her Substack. 00:00 "We do not comment," said in a comment 02:48 Rewatching Harry and Meghan 07:12 The zone of genius: Meghan and Diana 10:06 Why Charles Spencer wrote the book 11:10 The timeline, 16 to 22 September 12:19 The Palace statement, read in full 13:01 Three tells in 42 words 16:52 The pat on the head 18:18 Could they have said nothing? 20:59 The mask 21:41 Balmoral, 1997 24:12 Never complain, never explain 28:33 Trump and the press pool 32:55 Piers Morgan and the legal growl 36:16 Where it stands 37:02 The Muck Rack numbers 40:08 The statement I would have written 41:55 Find the uncle 44:00 Nobody in the room sat in Diana's chair 44:43 The golden rule Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

September 18, 202650 min

Ed Sheeran Stood In The Middle of Macklemore and Kraft And Became The Headline

Three television news networks asked Molly McPherson to break down the Macklemore, Ed Sheeran and Robert Kraft story this week. She said no to all three. Not because it is not a story, but because the frame they wanted turns a crisis communication lesson into a verdict on a war, and that is not her lane. So she took it to her Substack community instead, and this episode is that room. Four parties, four statements, read in the order they landed: the promoter, Macklemore, Robert Kraft and Ed Sheeran. Who spoke first, what each one claimed, and what it cost the person who signed it. Along the way: the red herring test she runs on any algorithm-driven news story, why an audience apology gives itself away, why naming the standard without naming the conduct leaves a hole the audience will fill, and the one move that would have changed all of this, which is deciding in peacetime instead of writing policy in public at night. It closes on the Muck Rack numbers. Ed Sheeran told everyone the decision was not his. He still carried 41% of the week's coverage, double Robert Kraft's share, and the biggest word in Robert Kraft's own word cloud for the week is Ed Sheeran. Molly is a crisis communication and reputation management consultant, APR, and the host of The PR Breakdown. The weekly live chat this episode came from runs on her Substack. 00:00 Why three networks asked and why I said no 01:28 Into the live chat 02:21 The lane: crisis communication, not foreign policy 06:14 Working in backlash, and getting it either way 09:14 The red herring test for algorithm-driven stories 11:25 The timeline: who spoke, in what order 12:13 Macklemore's statement, in the first person 13:27 Robert Kraft's statement and the line he drew 16:26 The 2014 performance Kraft is likely pointing at 18:27 Drawing a line in public comes with a cost 20:48 What the statement left out, and what the audience filled in 21:05 The weakest commercial hand at the table 24:05 This is not a First Amendment problem 25:00 The sentence in that apology I would redline 25:27 Audience apologies: naming who felt it, not what you did 29:16 Arch Manning, Holly Rowe, and an apology that works 32:12 The same hole, twelve years apart 32:37 Ed Sheeran's statement, read line by line 35:15 Why jurisdiction protects nothing 36:12 The four support acts who walked 37:42 Four statements, and the only thing they agree on 39:52 What should Ed Sheeran have done — the room answers 43:40 The hard choice is usually the right choice 47:04 My real answer, after the live ended 48:22 Decide in peacetime, publish it before it burns 49:02 The Muck Rack numbers 49:42 You cannot file your way out of a story Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

September 11, 202630 min

Amanda Hirsch: The Notes App Apology Era Is Done

Amanda Hirsch posted a Polymarket ad about the Lindsay Clancy trial on the Friday that trial ended in a mistrial. By Sunday there was a Notes App apology on Instagram, three paragraphs, comments turned off. Most of the internet read the apology as the story. Molly's argument is that the apology is a red herring, and that anyone stopping there is going to miss what actually happened. Because Amanda Hirsch does not have a Polymarket deal. Dear Media does. Her podcast sits on that network, Polymarket is a sponsor, and the two are already teaming up on a weekly show called What Are the Odds. So the ad was not a content creator's lapse in judgment. It was an employee doing her job inside a partnership she never signed. It is the same collision as Good Good Golf and Callaway the week before: a brand deal built to reach one audience, meeting public opinion, with the person on camera left holding it. Follow the money and the crisis is a prediction market trying to reach women through a media company. Then the field guide. Law 3, it is never the thing, it is the response to the thing - the ad was the thing, the apology had one job and made it worse. Law 5, silence gets filled and never by your friends - turning the comments off only moved the conversation to Reddit. Law 7, the hard decision is invariably the right one, and the hard one was for Dear Media to say the word Polymarket out loud. Law 2, the crisis comes from inside the house. And Law 1, trust is the filter: podcast ads work because listeners trust the host, which is exactly what is spent when that expertise gets rented out. Chapters: 0:16 — The Apology They Typed Instead of Filmed 0:43 — Why This Is Not About Amanda Hirsch 1:49 — The Lindsay Clancy Mistrial 2:25 — Why the Clancy Trial Was the Story of the Summer 3:10 — The Sponsored Reel That Started It 5:15 — The Replies, and the Retreat to Stories 6:45 — Reading the Notes App Apology in Full 10:25 — The Callaway Parallel 13:03 — What Are the Odds, and Who It Is Aimed At 21:03 — Follow the Money 22:16 — A Prediction Market Going After Women 24:39 — Law 3: It Is Never the Thing, It Is the Response 25:01 — Law 5: Silence Gets Filled 25:40 — Law 7: The Hard Decision Is the Right One 26:20 — Law 2: The Crisis Comes From Inside the House 27:02 — Law 1: Trust Is the Filter 27:27 — When Expertise Gets Rented Out 28:35 — The Apology Has Legal Fingerprints 29:13 — Who Was Left to Fall on the Sword 29:27 — Name the Crisis Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.

August 28, 202636 min

Callaway Approved the Good Good Ad. Then It Spoke Like a Bystander.

Callaway spent three days saying it was disappointed by an ad. Then its CEO admitted Callaway approved that ad before it was posted. This episode is about the gap between those two statements, and what a company reveals when it comments on its own conduct as though it were in the audience for it. A content warning first: the episode discusses domestic violence as an image used in a golf brand campaign. Nobody in this story is accused of real-world violence. The scene was staged. What two companies chose to make, approve and publish is the story. Then the read nobody in the golf feed has: Good Good is not a golf company. It is a media company that raised forty-five million dollars to become one, and the ad was not a lapse in judgment. It was the formula working the way it was paid to work. 0:00 — Why the communication is the story 0:31 — Three days of being disappointed 1:58 — The parody, described once 4:07 — Who approved it? 7:42 — Statement one: "disappointed by the content that was posted" 8:42 — The PGA Tour calls the response late and defensive 11:08 — Good Good is not a golf company 12:35 — Where the formula came from 18:39 — Statement two: "approved by Callaway prior to posting" 23:04 — A premiere moves at a sponsor’s request 24:17 — Forty-five million dollars 26:24 — "A 360-degree media company" 27:09 — The formula worked the way it was paid to work The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson. 👇 Stay Connected 📧 Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] 📣 Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] 🎙️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] 🎙️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] 🎙️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] 📱 MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.