My Publicist Note Book

Kevin Hart Says the Film Academy Has Given Him an Ultimatum... Kevin Hart is stepping down from hosting the Oscars after homophobic tweets surfaced on Thursday The turn of events followed an outcry over previous anti-gay tweets and comments Hart made during stand-up routines nearly 10 years ago. Some of the tweets were feverishly deleted throughout the day on Thursday, leading to an Instragram video from the comedian that only made matters worse for him. “My team calls me, ‘Oh my God, Kevin, everyone’s upset by tweets you did years ago,'” he said in that video. “Guys, I’m nearly 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify the past, do you. I’m the wrong guy, man.” Those words rang as a defiant non-apology for many. Hours later, Hart resurfaced with another video stating that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scien...

'an intention or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized' The stories leading up to the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show broadcast on Sunday night? Well, they likely didn’t thrill the company. Instead of people focusing on high-profile models such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid or Adriana Lima’s retirement, there were lots of thinkpieces. Specifically, about why the annual lingerie runway show is problematic; whether it has a place in “an era of corporate wokeness”; how some viewers are boycotting the show; whether the brand is “over”; and more. The New York Times reported that while Victoria’s Secret is still the top lingerie brand in the country, sales are down and the stock recently dropped 41 percent. Many headlines also surrounded the outcry over comments made by Ed Razek, the chief marketing officer for L Brands, Victoria’s Secret’s parent company. In an interview with Vogue last month, Razek was asked whether Vict...