Angelina Jolie’s Image Issues Not Going Away Despite Damage Control
Angelina Jolie is desperately trying to repair her public image in the middle of her nasty divorce with Brad Pitt. Despite the actress’s recent attempt to hire a publicist, her image issues are far from over. Is it too late for Jolie to turn things around?
Divorce Lawyer Raoul Felder told Page Six that the damage is already done, and hiring a PR specialist isn’t going to help. “Hiring a p.r. person now is like going for a checkup at the doctor after you’ve already had the heart attack,” Felder explained.
Felder believes Jolie’s best option would have been to avoid a PR mishap in the first place. Although Jolie has excelled in creating a good image of herself in the media, even a great publicist wouldn’t be able to fix her image problems.
Page Six is also reporting that Jolie hasn’t had a publicist in years. Back in 2014, Jolie revealed that she hired a PR rep at one time but didn’t enjoy the experienced. Instead, the actress has relied on advice from several political advisors, including Judy Smith, who specializes in crisis management in Washington, D.C., and Lady Arminka Helic, who once advised British Foreign Secretary William Hague.
Jolie is also thought to have re-hired her old manager, Geyer Kosinski. She parted ways with Kosinski back in 2013.
Enstarz is reporting that Jolie’s advisors pushed her to hire a PR specialist. When Jolie filed for divorce in September, she launched a smear campaign against Pitt that landed him an official investigation with the FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Pitt faced allegations that he abused his oldest son, Maddox, on a private plane.
Rumors also surfaced that Pitt had problems with drugs and alcohol abuse. In light of the allegations and rumors, Angelina Jolie was granted permission to keep physical custody of the kids while Pitt underwent therapy sessions and random drug tests.
The tide started to turn once the FBI and the DCFS cleared Pitt of all the child abuse rumors. Pitt also started to fight back in court and requested joint custody of their six kids – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.
Things really turned ugly for Jolie when Pitt made a surprise appearance at the Golden Globes. The actor introduced the movie Moonlight and received a standing ovation from his Hollywood peers. Many thought the reception was an indication that Hollywood was taking Pitt’s side in the divorce.
Since the Golden Globes appearance, Jolie’s team has been scrambling to turn things around. But it might be too late.
Last month, Pitt won a major battle in court when a judge agreed to seal sensitive documents related to their children. Pitt argued that he didn’t want information about his kids in public hands while Jolie’s team of lawyers accused him of covering up his own secrets.
In the weeks to come, Jolie and Pitt released a joint statement about hiring a private judge to handle the remainder of the divorce. Sadly, this means that there’s no telling what is happening in the custody case or how close they are to reaching an agreement.
To make matters worse, Yahoo is reporting that Jolie is preparing for the release of her new film, First They Killed My Father. The movie is based on the true story of a human rights activist in Cambodia and was directed by Jolie. With the movie set for release on Netflix, Jolie is scrambling to repair her image.
“She’s got a film coming out on Cambodia and will be doing promotion around that,” an insider revealed.
Angelina Jolie has not commented on the publicist rumors.
[Featured Image by Tom Stoddart/Getty Images Reportage/Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation via Getty Images]
