Media Xyndicate Blog

Edison Chen, the man at the centre of the sex scandal that has rocked the Hong Kong entertainment industry, has finally made his first public appearance, at a press conference in front of some 300 reporters yesterday. And boy, are there plenty of important PR lessons to pick up from the whole episode!

1) Choose Your Words Carefully

Better yet, hire professionals to draft your press statements. It is interesting to note Edison’s carefully-worded press statement. Already, some newspapers and news sites around the world are screaming headlines: “Edison Quits Showbiz After Sex Scandal!” Xinhua China says “Hong Kong actor Edison Chen quits business after sex photo scandal”; likewise Reuters India — “Hong Kong’s Edison Chen to quit after nude photo scandal”; the National Ledger of Arizona is a bit more clumsy with their headline “Edison Chen Sex Scandal: Nude Photos With Gillian Chung Ends Career”, and I’ll presume it’s only because they wanted to feature Gillian for SEO purposes.

For the record, Edison said he has “decided to step away from the Hong Kong entertainment industry” for a while — “indefinitely”, he adds later — and will perform charity work in the next few months “to heal [his] injuries and soul” to give [him]self an opportunity to heal [him]self and to search [his] soul.

That’s not quite the same as saying he’s quitting showbiz! 1) “Stepping away” leaves the option of a return, 2) specifically “from the Hong Kong entertainment industry”, which does not rule out a stint elsewhere. After all, he was virtually unknown in Hollywood and Canada, where he was born, but this scandal has ironically heightened his profile significantly. In fact, sex scandals similar to this one worked in the favour of Paris Hilton, Pamela Anderson and squeaky-clean Vanessa Hudgens, all of whom did not lose their jobs, and even gained an increase in popularity after the initial shock.

But it doesn’t matter. Because all the world believed they heard is: Edison Chen is quitting showbiz.

2) Better Late Than Never, But Better Early Than Late!

Here’s an interesting timeline detailing the release of pictures.

And here’s how it all played out:

27 Jan - 8.30 pm
Sex photos of Edison Chen and Gillian Chung posted on the adult content section of an online forum.

28 Jan - 3.00 pm
An intimate photo of Edison Chan and ex-girlfriend Bobo Chan uploaded.

28 Jan - 9.00 pm
Edison issues statement through his lawyer, stating that the photos were part of a prank, but did not state whether the photos were authentic or if they were fakes.

29 Jan - 12.30 am
The scandal continues as a photo of Cecilia Chung clad in a skimpy top and looking sexually aroused was uploaded.

29 Jan - 2.00 pm
A netizen by the name of -Edison Chen- uploads a series of photos depicting Edison and Gillian performing a number of sex acts.

29 Jan - 4.00 pm
Gillian Chung’s company Emperor Entertainment issues a second statement stating that the photos were fake and were product of digital manipulation.

29 Jan - 5.30 pm
Cecilia Chung issued a statement through her lawyer stating that she has made a police report regarding the uploaded photos.

29 Jan - 6.00 pm
A nude photo of Cecilia Chung appears on the web.

29 Jan - 8.00 pm
Edison Chen’s manager spoke through an EEG Music spokesman saying that the actor has made a police report.

30 Jan - 1.30 am
Two photos depicting Cecilia Chung in a police uniform are circulated online.

30 Jan - 10.00 pm
Two more sex photos of Cecilia Chung are uploaded.

4 Feb
Hong Kong police said they have arrested a man they believe was the first person to post a series of racy photos showing partially nude celebrities on the Internet.

4 Feb
Edison said he was sorry about sex photos

5 Feb
More obscene photos hit the Net.

6 Feb
More Pics posted online

7 Feb
Edison Dumped from the movie ‘JUMP’

7 Feb
Dozen more photos leaked onto the net

8 Feb
A few pictures of Jolin Tsai and Maggie Q leaked onto the net

9 Feb
Vincy Yeung nude pictures were posted on the web

9 Feb
New ‘Edison and Bobo’ sex photos posted on the web

10 Feb
Edison Chen dumped by Manhattan Titanium, a credit card company

10 Feb
Gillian Chung first public appearance. “I am sorry”

21 Feb
Edison Chen makes first public appearance and press conference.

26 days inclusive, that’s how long Edison took to come clean and explain himself to the public. And that’s much too late. It should not have taken more than 7 days to attempt to clear up the mess. Because Edison (and his PR team) left it for too long, the scandal was allowed to fester and spread, making it a worse epidemic than it should be.

3) Thou Shalt Not Lie!

Gillian Chung and Emperor Entertainment committed a major PR faux pas when they attempted to dismiss the photos as digitally-manipulated fakes. Gillian would surely have found the pictures familiar and knew the shit had hit the fan. By denying it, she and Emperor now look incredibly stupid and have obviously not endeared themselves to the public. You lied, blatantly. And no one likes to be lied to.

Gillian’s tactic reminds me of TT Durai and the NKF saga. When exposed by SPH senior correspondent Susan Long for misuse of the charity’s funds on luxury items which appeared to be for the personal use of Durai and his wife, the then-NKF CEO had the audacity to sue SPH and its journalist for defamation. The ensuing legal battle brought more NKF and Durai misdeeds to light, and eventually led to his sensational collapse.

The public backlash was bigger than any other in the nation’s recent history.

Gillian should have learnt from this to never lie to the public. And if you have to lie, make sure the truth never ever EVER comes out.

Here’s the Youtube video of Edison Chen’s press conference.