by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 27, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

oised for release from club-fed in West Virginia March 4, homemaking diva Martha Stewart has spent a fortune on rehabilitating her sullied image. Stewart's image took a beating after getting charged and convicted of lying to federal authorities afater dumping 45,000 worth of ImClone Systems Inc. stock, tipped off by her good buddy, Sam Waksal, the biotech's president and CEO, who panicked after his anti-cancer drug Erbitux was rejected by the Food and Drug Administration. It's beyond ironic that the FDA eventually approved Erbitux while Waksal serves out a seven-year sentence for insider trading. What disgusted so many people was not Stewart's crime but her pettiness and greed, saving a few thousand bucks, when she was worth nearly a billion dollars. Martha's insulting denials and lack of contrition left the public unsympathetic to her harsh treatment.

      Stewart opted out of expediency to serve out her sentence rather than postpone the inevitable pending appeal. She never admitted she did anything wrong, including dumping her ImClone shares on a tip from Waksal. Not once, in any public forum, whether on CNN's “Larry King Live” or ABC's “20/20,”did she admit anything, blaming the whole mess on zealous prosecutors out to ruin her career and reputation. “It's one of the most remarkable turnarounds I've ever seen,” said Allan Mayer, managing director of Sitrick & Co., a strategic public relations firms specializing in damage control. They handled right wing radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, accused of drug addiction, and actress-comedian Paula Poundstone charged with child abuse. Mayer attributes Stewart's turnaround to serving time in jail. What's that got to do with strategic public relations or damage control?

      When Stewart gets out of Anderson Prison Camp, she'll begin shooting two new TV shows on NBC, produced and directed by Mark Burnett famous for “Survivor” and the “Apprentice.” NBC hopes that Stewart's notoriety neutralizes adverse publicity stemming from her legal problems. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Company president Susan Lyne expects a jump in magazine ad sales following Martha's “unencumbered return.” What Lyne doesn't know is whether the recent makeover from narcissistic New York socialite to humble prison inmate will last. “When people saw she was going to suck it up and go to jail, they thought ‘Maybe she is arrogant. Maybe she is overbearing. But she's taking it like a grown-up,'” said Mayer, along way from her arrogant denials on CBS' “Early Show” with anchor Jane Clayton, saying, “I'll be exonerated of any ridiculousness.”

      Martha's perfectionism prevented her from showing vulnerability. Scrubbing floors in prison helped rehabilitate an image tainted less by scandal than pettiness and greed. Rubbing elbows with Waksal on the Upper Eastside didn't jibe with her Suzy-homemaker product-line sold at K-Mart. “I think she's become an even stronger role model of self-empowerment,” said Jonathan Holiff, whose public relations firm lines up celebrities with particular products. “I fully expect her to be bigger and better than ever,” implying that a little prison time helped her image, proving, if nothing else, that real life-events like prison had more impact than high-priced public relations. Martha didn't help her cause by avoiding the witness stand. It's one thing to protest her innocence, still another to bite her tongue when it's time to tell her story. Damage control involves saying the right things.

      When Martha was convicted in March 2004 of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and two counts of lying to investigators, she should have profusely apologized and asked forgiveness for disappointing her family, friends and shareholders. Instead she blamed the government for making her a scapegoat. When she was sentenced in July to five months in prison, five-months of house arrest and a $30,000 fine she told her supporters on the steps of federal court in Manhattan, “I'll be back.” For Stewart, she was still thumbing her nose at the government. “I wish I were perfect. I wish I were just the nicest, nicest, nicest person on earth. But I am a businesswoman . . . If I were a man no one would ever say I were arrogant,” said Stewart, getting about as close to a mea culpa during the whole sordid mess. Martha never quite got that her unwillingness to confess and apologize hurt her recovery.

      Stewart's problems stemmed not from her crimes but from her grandiosity, leaving her incapable of making amends. She had plenty of opportunity to come clean on national TV or in court but instead played the victim. Dumping her ImClone stock exposed her greed, hurting her image and squeaky-clean reputation. To this date, no one can explain why a woman with so much to lose would risk her empire saving a few thousand dollars. It's even harder to explain why her friend Sam Waksal dumped his shares when Erbitux eventually got approved. “I've had time to think,” time to write, time to exercise, time to not eat the bad food, and time to walk and contemplate the future,” Steward wrote on marthatalks.com. Without acknowledging her mistakes and apologizing, it's doubtful that the homemaking queen will win back her fans and truly get a fresh start.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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