Scandals are becoming new PR strategy in Hollywood?

Hollywood scandals used to ruin careers. Now, they can help jumpstart one. Whether it’s social media feuds or ‘accidental’ leaks, controversies have become the most powerful unchecked marketing tool—and the stars know it.

Publicists used to do everything to stash the drama. Now, they start it. Breakups, feuds, or unfiltered Instagram posts can do what no movie promotion can—keep a celebrity’s name in the spotlight. “Relevance is the new currency” is a common phrase among entertainment professionals. “And nothing buys attention faster than a scandal.”

Feuds go regarding the new music, “private” texts are released and stars apologize just as new products are coming to store, turning the outrage cycle into attention. Closed-loop “cycles” are outrage, attention, and redemption. It’s predictable and the audience loves it.

Agencies are now hiring “crisis architects” in Hollywood which is marketing chaos to maximize attention. More shocking the narrative more clicks, followers and sponsorships. Raw narratives do better in chaos marketing as they stimulate more views. More views generate more sponsorships which is the real goal.

However, things are not entirely positive. Persistent controversy has left skepticism in the air, to the point that every meltdown seems like a performance and every feud seems fake. 

Dana Lewis, a pop-culture analyst, told People, “Authenticity is dead. The scandal is the strategy.”

Still, the formula keeps working. In an industry where attention equals money, playing the villain has become the quickest route to stardom. In Hollywood today, being controversial isn’t a career-killer — it’s the career plan.