Paula Deen: How One Word Ruined Her Reputation

Abstract

Paula Deen has been under close scrutiny by the media and the public since last summer, when a lawsuit and information broke about her using racial slurs in the past. Since then, she has spent nearly a year trying to return to her previous image as a lovable Southern chef, but the media especially has made it more difficult of a return than she expected. This paper will be giving a summary of her image repair tactics, as well as comparing her case to those of other celebrities accused of racism.

Introduction

Growing up 50 years ago, segregation was not out of the ordinary. There were separate schools, separate bathrooms, even separate seating on public transportation. Society has come a long way since then, but for those who grew up during this time, it’s not so easy to forget the past. That inability to forget has now ruined the reputation of celebrity chef Paula Deen, who was accused last summer of using racial comments while working at Deen’s Lady and Sons and Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House eateries in Savannah, Georgia. Despite her denial of the allegations, she did admit to using the “N word” when she was younger and was promptly fired from her position on The Food Network. Deen has spent the past year trying to move past the situation and restore her previous image, but it has not gone as smoothly as she perhaps had hoped it would. This paper will be analyzing Deen’s image repair strategy and will seek to answer the following questions:

·         What image repair strategies did Paula Deen use on Facebook and Twitter?

·         How did the general public react to Deen’s image repair strategies?

·         How has Deen’s image improved or gotten worse since the initial media outbreak?

·         What steps could Deen have taken to better improve her image?

Literature Review

There are a similar cases of celebrities that have been known for making racial comments. Here are a few examples:

• Mel Gibson – While going through a custody battle with his girlfriend at the time, Oksana Grigorieva, Gibson was caught on tape using the ‘n’ word back in 2010. Gibson is also known for attacking the Jewish religion.
• Michael Richards – While performing at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, Richards used racial slurs as well as the ‘n’ word to African American hecklers.
• Paris Hilton – Hilton was quoted in Neil Stauss’s book, Everyone Love You When Your Dead stating, “I can’t stand black guys. I would never touch one. It’s gross.”
• Big Brother –  During the 2013 summer season of hit reality show Big Brother, several displays of racism occurred. GinaMarie Zimmerman used the n-word among other racial slurs about the other guests in the house.  Despite the controversy CBS has already renewed their contract for next season.

Methods

This textual analysis details the online image repair strategies taken over the past year by Paula Deen after media reports immerged that she used had used racial slurs in the past. This study was executed by observing the following: (a) every Tweet Deen has issued between June 1, 2013 to the present, choosing certain Tweets to screenshot that are relevant to her image repair, (b) all Facebook posts Deen has posted since June 1, 2013, also choosing certain posts to screenshot that are relevant, (c) the apology videos Deen recorded in June and July of 2013 in reference to the racial slurs, and (d) news videos and articles relating to the incident to determine the media/public’s view of Deen’s situation.

Here are a few of Paula Deen’s tweets:

Findings and Discussion

Paula Deen has been under close scrutiny by the media and the public since last summer, when a lawsuit and information broke about her using racial slurs in the past. Since then, she has spent nearly a year trying to return to her previous image as a lovable Southern chef, but the media especially has made it more difficult of a return than she expected, I think. Due to her immense popularity before the negative information arose, Emily and I have chosen to do our image repair paper over Paula’s case.

Paula’s first response to the accusations was to tell the truth. While it initially made the media much more heated toward her, I think it was actually positive in winning people’s good opinions back. She immediately apologized, several times through different news outlets, which is another strategy in repairing her image. (see an article about the apology here)  It seemed a little strange to me, however, that she issued no kind of apology via social media: both her Facebook and Twitter could have been other good outlets for a public apology, but there was none.

Here is a video of her apology on the Today Show:

Aside from the initial apology, it seems like Paula’s strategy has been to simply move as far as possible away from the situation and act like everything is back to normal. Her first reaction on Twitter was a tweet that said she would be offering a video statement, and on Facebook, her only reaction was a thank-you post that shared her love and gratitude with fans for supporting her, as well as asked them to keep her in their prayers. Aside from these, she never directly mentioned the situation again and seems to be attempting to have it forgotten by moving on. On both Facebook and Twitter, she makes posts and tweets nearly every day offering different recipes – sometimes there will be several posts or tweets in one day.

While most of the posts are food-related, she also has several that are more personal. Pictures of her family and pets make the general public feel more connected to her, and being able to control the “captions” of these photos is important to helping her paint the image that she wants for herself. All of these captions are written in a distinctive Southern drawl using words meant to make the viewer feel comfortable and like he or she knows Paula personally. She also has multiple posts and tweets thanking her fans for their kind words, prayers, comments and ideas – I think it is very smart to make posts like these. Firstly, it once again portrays her as a humble, grateful and kind “friend” to the viewer; secondly, it subconsciously makes the viewer aware of the fact that there are people supporting her, which is going to influence his or her view on the entire situation.

Overall, she has followed some of the ideas of repairing her image, but still has a way to go before regaining the respect of many. I’m looking forward to researching the situation more and analyzing her response further.

Limitations

The greatest limitations in this project were finding scholarly articles, both about Deen’s situation and about other cases similar to hers. Because image repair for celebrities is a fairly unexplored topic within the academic field, it was difficult to find anything relating to it. There were plenty of news articles from different media outlets that explained their opinions or take on the situation; however, since these are not considered scholarly sources, we were unable to include them.

Conclusions

Paula Deen has had a rough year attempting to repair her image to the point that it once was. Aside from stumbling through a few video apologies, she has tried to get the general public to move past her history by focusing on what she was known and loved for in the first place: food. By posting and tweeting with a Southern drawl and plenty of affectionate terms, she attempts to remind people who she is now, not who she was 30 years ago. While this is somewhat effective enough to allow her to still have a hefty following of fans, there is still much more she could do to try and fix her perception to the general public.

Anthony Weiner’s Failed Image Repair Strategy

By: Mary Mackie and Stephanie Taylor

Anthony Weiner, a well-known Congressman from New York has been in the limelight several times over the past three years due to his inappropriate activity with various women, both of and underage on different social media platforms. In 2011, rumors circulated of Anthony Weiner using false accounts on both Facebook and Twitter to send “waist-down photos” to college students.  Since then, multiple women have reported inappropriate social media interaction with Congressman Weiner. While it remains unclear how many of the cases have been declared true, the Congressman did not approach the situation with thought or poise. This blog entry critiques Weiner’s image repair tactics and touches on other public figures who have been in similar situations.

Political sex scandals have become more frequent over the years, especially President Clinton’s Lewinsky affair. We chose to analyze this particular scandal because both the Clinton and the Wiener scandal involved powerful spouses. Hillary Clinton’s image repair and presence in the media relates closely to that of Huma Abedin, Anthony Wiener’s wife. Both spouses chose to take a “stand by your man” approach to repairing their husband’s political careers. Both Clinton and Abedin denied rumors of the scandals when first confronted. The two cases differ in media control because Abedin failed to control the media flow , while Clinton made a conspiracy theory for the media to focus on.

Our studies found that social media is a key player when dealing with image repair. We examined the Jon and Kate divorce study and found it to be crucial in Kate’s successful image repair. While Jon didn’t take advantage of social media platforms such as Twitter, Kate tweeted throughout the crisis with content focusing on her family ” As always, my first priority remains our children”(Moody-Ramirez)

Anthony Wiener did not use social media effectively during his crisis, and instead used it to push his political agenda or attack the opposition through the use of sarcastic hashtags.

Anthony Wiener was scrutinized by the media, especially in The New Yorker magazine.

Weiner tried to improve his image with his family and gain trust with the American people in the New York Times magazine, but failed as is evident in the comments below the article.

Despite the scandal being over and attention diverted away from him, Anthony Wiener reappeared in the spotlight when he was filmed yelling at a Jewish voter in a bakery.

Anthony Wiener responded in a very childish way and appeared to be very unprofessional.

Clearly the tactics Anthony Wiener implemented during his scandal were unsuccessful, and he managed to lose the mayoral race because of  his poor actions and techniques.

For Weiner to regain respect from the American public, he will need to make significant changes to his image repair tactics and social media strategy.  Weiner needs to be transparent with the public about his inappropriate activity with various women, and needs to appear genuine in his apologies to the public, his supporters and his family.   Should another Anthony Weiner scandal occur, he should refrain from deleting or having gaps in his social media posts because such actions appear to be suspicious to the public eye.

An Image Repair the Size of Big Tex

by Tiffani McReynolds

Big Tex, the 55-foot tall signature statue at the State of Texas Fair in Dallas, Texas.

For Texas superstar and ‘Golden Boy”, Johnny Manziel, an image repair the size of the Texas Fair’s revered icon ‘Big Tex’ is necessary.  In studying Manziel for an image repair research paper my partner and I discovered that much of the repair process had already began. In an effort to clean up his act before the 2014 NFL Draft, Manziel has cleaned up many of his social media pages such as Twitter and Instagram. Along with his ‘spring cleaning’ on social media, Manziel has also remained off the radar news wise. The study conducted by my partner and I was focused upon the previous mischief of Manziel. Shortly after Manziel’s skyrocket to fame, he began living life under a microscope. All aspects of his life, especially his use of social media, have been scrutinized by media and fans alike. Questions regarding NCAA eligibility began to arise afterManziel was spotted court side at NBA games, golfing with celebrities, gambling at casinos and partaking in underage drinking. Using social media to tout his newfound status. With the 2014 NFL draft on the horizon, this study aims to reviewManziel’s controversial social media posts, his reaction to subsequent media coverage of his postings as well as current and previous image repair tactics.

As the 2014 NFL Draft approaches Manziel is on a mission to keep a clean record.

Various twitter and Instagram posts will be reviewed and monitored for positive, negative and neutral content, and to gain understanding of public reaction and responses to those posts. With this information, a clear image-repairing, social media driven technique will be introduced. Apart from the research of Manziel’s social media, we looked at several social media related image repairs. These repairs included those of, Terrel Owens, Cam Newton, Michael Phelps, and the Duke University Lacrosse Team to name a few. Several questions were focused on for the study. Because Manziel is a heavy social media user our focus remained on his Twitter and Instagram. Our questions included:

1. How did Manziel present himself on Twitter?
2. How did Manziel’s fans respond to his tweets both negative and positive?  
3. How did Manziel present himself on Instagram?
4. How did Manziel’s fans react to his Instagram?

To make sifting through Manziel’s excessive number of Tweets and Instagram comments we broke the research process into three phases: (a) a qualitative analysis of Manziel’s twitter posts Dec. 6, 2012 to April 2014; (b) a qualitative analysis of Manziel’s Instagram posts Dec. 6, 2012 to currently; and (c) a qualitative look at the positive, negative and neutral tweets and posts of Manziel in response to his social media use. During the qualitative analysis of Manziel’s media will be compared to articles covering Manziel’s most current incidents. In the case of Twitter, every 10th Tweet and all responses to the Tweet were examined. For Instagram used to online version. Manziel had a total of 318 posts at the time of study, only those posts with 300 or more comments were looked at leaving us with 170 posts. The tweets and comments were all categorized into: positive, negative or neutral.

What Was Discovered from Instagram: My partner conducted the Twitter research while I conducted the Instagram. So, from the Instagram research the main things learned were:

A graph illustrating the percentage of positive, negative and neutral comments made on Manziel’s Instagram posts.

• Manziel does not respond to ANY of the comments made on his pictures.
• Most of the comments fit the neutral category
• Manziel’s followers do most of the bickering.
• There is a surprisingly low amount of negative comments.
• Positve comments are the second largest category.
• Many of the controversial pictures brought up in the news have been deleted.
• Manziel appears to be a family man, who loves playing football and golf.
• He likes Nike.
• He knows some pretty cool celebrities.
• He helps out in the community with young cancer survivors.
• Drake just might be his best friend ( maybe not BFFs but they are definitely friends).

His image repair tactics of avoidance (not responding to comments, deleting pictures) does not help deal with repairing his image. Instead it comes of that Manziel seems to be ignoring that those incidents ever happened. To wrap up the study as a whole one can conclude that social media has definitely changed the ability to become a celebrity. An ordinary person can become a celebrity overnight. For athletes their already high pedestal has increased and the looming microscope and behavior police more pestering. Athletes such as Manziel can be seen as the Superman of Football and within a day be torn back down.

Positive comments from fans and supporters are recorded on an Instagram post made by Manziel after winning the Heisman trophy in 2012.

Through their interactions with fans and fellow celebrities they can increase their popularity or decrease it. With all of this freedom to voice opinion it is inevitable that crises may occur, and when those do occur image repair is necessary. Hopefully not all will be as large as Manziel’s. For more info on Johnny’s perspective NFL future click here!

Will Free Speech Hurt Manziel’s Stock in the Draft?

By: Krisha Johansen

Johnny “Football” Manziel isn’t necessarily searching for the spotlight, but he isn’t exactly one to shy away from it either. Not unlike celebrities or other professional athletes, Manziel uses his social media accounts frequently. However, rather than using his social media presence as a positive self-promotional tool, he frequently uses it to incite controversy. The goal of this essay is to research and monitor Manziel’s social media use to determine which image repair tactic he has used, if any, the public’s reaction to each and to identify lessons to be learned from Manziel’s failed and or successful image repair tactics. 

Before Johnny “Football” Manziel set foot on Kyle Field at Texas A&M University, he was surrounded by controversy. On June 29, 2012, Manziel was arrested in College Station, Texas for disorderly conduct, failure to identify and possession of a fictitious driver’s license. Whereas his arrest could have been a career-ending blow, Manziel catapulted himself to astronomical levels during Texas A&M’s inaugural season in the SEC. Less than six months after his arrest, Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy (Thompson, 2013).

Shortly after Manziel’s skyrocket to fame, he began living life under a microscope. All aspects of his life, especially his use of social media, have been scrutinized by media and fans alike. Questions regarding NCAA eligibility began to arise after Manziel was spotted courtside at NBA games, golfing with celebrities, gambling at casinos and partaking in underage drinking. The quarterback began using social media to tout his newfound status.

Little comparison can be made between Manziel and other athletes as previous image repair theories and tactics measure those of single-sport athletes; such as, Michael Phelps (Walsh & McAllister-Spooner, 2011), Tonya Harding (Benoit & Hanczor, 1994), and Lance Armstrong (Potts, 2013); a team as a whole; Duke University Lacrosse Team (Len-Rios, 2010); and does not cover social media. The closest relational study to Manziel was completed on Terrell Owens in 2007 and does not include use of social media (Brazeal, 2007).

With the 2014 NFL draft on the horizon, our study reviews Manziel’s social media posts, his reaction to subsequent media coverage of his postings as well as current and previous image repair tactics. Various twitter and Instagram posts were reviewed and monitored for positive, negative and neutral content, and to gain understanding of public reaction and responses to those posts. 

RQ1: How did Manziel present himself on Twitter?
RQ2: How did Manziel’s fans respond to his tweets both negative and positive?
RQ3: How did Manziel present himself on Instagram?
RQ4: How did Manziel’s fans react to his Instagram?

Out of 3,649 tweets, not including deleted tweets, 304 were sampled from Dec. 6, 2012, two days before the Heisman Trophy presentation, until a self-imposed a Twitter break on Jan. 10, 2014. All of Manziel’s tweets, including replies and retweets, and subsequent responses from fans and followers were marked as positive, negative or neutral.

Multiple limitations and roadblocks were found when gathering, analyzing and interpreting the data collected from Manziel’s Instagram and Twitter accounts. Due to a small sample size and a large time frame (roughly 300 photos from December 2012 to April 2014, and 300 tweets from December 2012 to January 2014), many postings were missed. This study did not take into effect the number of tweets or previously posted photos that had been deleted. Also, it did not take into account the number of Retweets and/or favorites per Tweet.

In analyzing the data, numerous Tweets were recorded as neutral due to a lack of context for which the Tweet was intended. On average, Manziel’s Tweets garnered three to four replies by fans and followers that were not relevant to his posted content. These comments were recorded as neutral.

Another limitation found on both, Manziel and his followers, was deciphering between sarcasm and a genuine comment. For example: on Dec. 9, 2012, Nick Sciulli Tweeted Manziel stating, “I bet @JManziel2 is a total bro.” Manziel replied on Dec. 10, 2012, commenting, “TOTAL.”

Recent pop culture defines “total bro” as a negative term to typically describe a male with a large ego and/or someone who is stuck on his self. Because the personal relationship between Sciulli and Manziel is unknown, and a sarcastic tone could potentially be interpreted, their Tweet exchange was recorded as negative.

The evolution of the hashtag also proved difficult to categorize. For example: Manziel tweeted a picture of himself visiting a young child in a Connecticut hospital holding Monopoly money with a tongue-in-cheek hashtag directed at NCAA compliance rules. The actual Tweet was positive, but the hashtag was negative, thus causing this particular tweet to be marked as neutral.

The multiple limitations discovered in this study draw attention to the imperfections of social media. When a Tweet or post is deleted by the user, the potential of it skewing the results to lean more positively is much greater.

Technology and social media have changed the communication landscape forever. It can turn an ordinary person into a celebrity practically overnight. It can single out an athlete in a team sport and build them up to be a hero. Or it can tear them down and position them to be the anti-hero.

It can allow these celebrities to utilize self-promotion tactics and interact with their fans and followers on a personal basis.

But it can also lead to seemingly petty arguments and more media attention. However, it can also stir the proverbial pot, taking shots at other individuals to gain media attention.

Social media is a powerful tool, and when used for positive self-promotion, it can launch a budding athlete into superstardom. However, it can also stir unsolicited media attention, i.e. Manziel’s Tweet about wanting to leave College Station.

Social media can also be used as a crisis management tool and to help address and debunk rumors.

However, it should be used with caution, as text allows for much room in interpretation of tone and sincerity.

In conclusion, it was an intelligent decision on Manziel’s behalf to take a break from Twitter before the NFL draft in May; however, he should’ve considered taking a break from social media altogether. There is much to be said about a person’s character and how they present themselves online.

The only question remains; will Manziel’s use of social media hinder his stock in the 2014 NFL draft?

Goals and Tasks for Cultural Arts of Waco

The Cultural Arts of Waco has taken on a huge project. Their goal is to, “honor an awe-inspiring African-American hero while providing a place for remembrance, reflection and learning to honor those that served their country in times of need and  those who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.” In order to do this, they are looking to raise $1.5 million to create the Doris Miller Memorial.

Our group is assigned to help them get closer to their goal. In order to do that, I believe that we need to set goals and figure out how to achieve them.

My goals include:

• Increase their use of social media
• Increase awareness in the community and beyond
• Help funding
• Increase word of mouth campaign

In order to complete the goals, we need to set out tasks. Our tasks, will help the Cultural Arts of Waco become one step closer towards their goal.

My tasks include:

• Increase their followers on Twitter and Facebook
• Create an Instagram and a blog
• Post on social media daily
• Follow associated accounts on social media
• Host a fundraising event
• Create Doris Miller t-shirts
• Create new brochures

I believe one of the biggest things we can do to help the Cultural Arts of Waco is to create awareness via social media. Social media has an enormous impact on a business. If we can successful increase a word of mouth campaign, we will be able to see our social media outlets become more prominent in our campaign.

This video shows how important social media is to a business. It proves that the impact of social media is so grand. We can communicate with people all of the world and our message can reach out to many different audiences.

A Beautiful Ministry

By Hailey Cowan

First of all, I’m going to be super honest and say how much of a blessing this assignment is. There were so many awesome organizations to work with. Second of all, I’m going to be super lame and say that Restoration Haven leaped off the screen and into my heart the moment I saw it on the organizations list. I wasn’t sure what Restoration Haven was (and by wasn’t sure, I mean I had NO clue), but I was intrigued and really wanted to know more.

restorationhaven.org

As soon as we started researching the organization I knew we made the right choice. The heart and compassion that this thing was founded on is absolutely captivating. Shirley Langston, the founder of RHI, may be one of the most genuine, passionate women I have ever had the privilege of meeting. She starts speaking and you can quite literally see her heart. She cares for people. Doesn’t have to know their name; doesn’t have to know their situation; doesn’t have to know their address; she simply cares. It’s inspiring.

Now, her heart and her drive is impressive, but when we began our SWOT analysis, we immediately noticed that the heart of the organization isn’t visible on their website or social media. I’m from Hewitt, right down i35 from Waco, and I had never heard of this beautiful organization. I honestly believe that every one should have the opportunity to be part of such a real ministry.

 

Being the daughter of a pastor, Restoration Haven really hits home for me. I have a lot of connections to churches and ministries in the Waco area and I honestly believe that I can help Restoration Haven get the awareness they need.

Remembering Doris Miller

by Natalie Tollett

 

The mission of the Cultural Arts of Waco is “to celebrate and promote the community’s diverse and artistic and cultural life; develop and enrich its cultural capacity; and champion the economic, social, and educational benefits of the arts in the Greater Waco area and beyond.”

They host an annual arts festival in waco Texas and have many public art displays around waco, such as the Waco Mural and the Branding on the Brazos.

My group will help build a campaign to raise awareness for the Doris Miller Memorial. This project has been a work in progress for three years, but the plans and vision for the result seem to be very clear.

Doris (Dorie) Miller, African-American hero of World War II, was born and raised in Waco. He was the first African-American to be awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery during Pearl Harbor.

 

The plans to honor Miller through the memorial have been very thorough. They intend to raise $1.5 million in the next few years and have already managed to raise $300,000 through donations online and throughout the community of Waco such as in banks or schools.

The volunteers have spent countless hours on the Doris Miller Website: http://www.dorismillermemorial.org/, not to mention brochures, social media, memorial planning, budgeting, and contacting contractors and artists.

The memorial will be a beautiful way to commemorate the life and bravery of the native Wacoan, and I look forward to seeing the completed project.

Some of the strengths my team discovered in speaking with a Cultural Arts of Waco representative were:

• The honesty and drive of the organization to achieve its end goal to honor Doris Miller’s service to our country.
• The powerful reputation of the organization within the community.
• The fact that everyone on the project is a volunteer, therefore they willingly give their time because they’re passionate about the cause.
• The building of the new Baylor Football stadium is in close proximity to the memorial site, which will hopefully stimulate more interest and, eventually, more donations.

Some of the weaknesses that hinder the Doris Miller Memorial include:

• The lack of awareness within the community about the project.
• The lack of funds needed to complete the project.
• The slow-moving process it has taken to achieve the current funds.
• The out-dated processes or ways of thinking in regards to raising the money.
• The website and other medias could use some updating.

Overall, I am very excited to work on the Doris Miller Project and see the progression over the next few weeks, months, and years.

For more information on Doris Miller and his brave story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-K9mr-qf3o

 

Paula Deen: One Word Could Define Your Reputation

By Emily Evans

Growing up 50 years ago, segregation was not out of the ordinary. There were separate schools, separate bathrooms, even separate seating on public transportation. Society has come a long way since then, but for some people who grew up during this time, it’s not so easy to forget the past.

Last summer, celebrity chef Paula Deen was accused of using racial comments while working at Deen’s Lady and Sons and Bubba’s Seafood and Oyster House eateries in Savannah, Georgia.

The Food Network said, “Food Network does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion,” and announced it would not be renewing her contract with them.

When asked if she told racial jokes, Deen denied the allegations, but admitted she does use the ‘N word’. However, she said she hasn’t used that word in years. She then said, “That’s just not a word that we use as time has gone on. Things have changed since the ’60s in the South. And my children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior.”

After the news hit the public, the southern home-cooking mother’s reputation transformed into one word- racist. Weeks later, Deen went on the Today Show and apologized for using the ‘N word’. With the lies growing, Deen owned up to her mistake and will not tolerate being called a racist.

With tears in her eyes, Deen saidd she is heartbroken of the things that are being said about her. She then looked at the camera and told the audience if there’s anyone out there that has never said something that they wish they could take back, pick up a stone and cast it toward her.

The reference alluded to the Bible verse John 8:7, “When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'”

Here is the video of her apology:

Oprah Winfrey, announced once Deen is emotionally ready to talk about this offense she is welcome to return to OWN for an on-camera sit down. Winfrey, sensitive to racism, wants to get Deen’s side of the situation.

This controversy, though unfortunate, will prove Deen’s character. Celebrities are constantly in the public eye and people are just waiting until they mess up. The question is how will these celebs respond to them? Instead of denying the allegations, Deen’s apology was a very big step for the outcome of the situation.

Visit Paula Deen Speaks Out About N-Word Scandal: I Am Not a Racist to read more about the controversy.

The Transformation Before Our Eyes, Amanda Bynes.

By Mollie Kirk

Everyone knows Amanda Bynes.

Whether it is for her childhood glory days or even her recent scandals, she has been all over the news and social media. She has sure changed a lot over the years and we’ve been able to witness her transformation, physically and mentally.

Amanda has grown up in the spotlight. She became a hit on All That before eventually starring in her own comedy sketch show, The Amanda Show. Was this the start of her downward spiral? Or was it continuing to be apart of Hollywood and landing lead roles in various hit movies? Just a few years ago, she was a cute young girl who didn’t run into the law-until recently. In 2012, she began to get in trouble with the law on a regular basis.

Last summer, she became addicted to Twitter. She frequently spoke her mind and attacked others by saying harsh and cruel words.

Here are a few examples of her Twitter attacks and then apologized.

Looking at her past, is her upbringing in Hollywood to blame? Does she have a mental illness? In my research paper, I plan to look at other child stars and how Hollywood affects their upbringing. I also plan to look at her Twitter during her scandal, her Twitter now and her potential secret Twitter account.

The research paper will be very interesting to see how many correlations there are between young actors and if there has been any studies done on childhood acting affecting their scandals.

A Brief Look at the Anthony Weiner Scandal

by: Mary Mackie

Anthony Weiner is a politician from New York City who was involved in multiple “sexting scandals” beginning 2011. The first scandal took place in June 2011 when the married 49- year-old used Twitter to send inappropriate photos to a 21-year-old in Seattle.  After denying reports, Weiner finally admitted that he did, in fact, send the photos out and posted them to the Formspring website, which is a popular site for teenagers to ask questions.  This occurrence caused Weiner to resign from Congress and take a break from politics.

Weiner returned to politics in April 2013 by announcing his decision to run in the mayoral race in New York City.  During this time, Weiner was involved in the second sexting scandal where Weiner sent more inappropriate photos to a 22-year-old under the alias “Carlos Danger.”

This is a very interesting figure to perform an image repair analysis on because the situation reoccured multiple times. Weiner also tried to improve his image by using Twitter.  While he did lash out with various unruly tweets, he also took an interesting approach by deleting all of his content between the months of May and August of 2013.

This scandal has absolutely ruined Weiner’s reputation, and to top it off, a video of Weiner in a shouting match with a Jewish voter in a Bagel shop in New York.

I look forward to working with Stephanie to analyze this scandal in relation to other sexting scandals that have taken place over the last three years.