298: Analyzing Power Dynamics: Trump, Reynolds, and Jay-Z Under the PR Microscope

Transcript

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Hey there, welcome back to the PR Breakdown, where I like to dissect the biggest moments in news and in public chatter.

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I like to figure out what's really going on behind the headlines.

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Today I'm tackling a PR power dynamic more as a public service to help people spot the PR behind the moves and motives, behind three men who made them Okay, everyone you can see from the top and the photos that I am focusing on three guys, three guys who were in the news last week into this weekend we're calling the Grammy Awards part of last week.

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Now, disclaimer, right off the top.

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I'm talking about three men who are all individuals and their actions and behaviors that I'll be discussing should not be generalized to every powerful person or even all men.

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I think it's important to avoid making sweet bean generalizations about entire groups of people based on the actions of a few individuals.

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So the behavior that I'm going to describe in this podcast I just find concerning and it's often associated with a pattern of abuse of power and control that can manifest in many different ways, but I just wanted to highlight three of them and the fact that there are three guys.

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That's just a coincidence, but they are three very powerful men who happened to hit the news this week.

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So I just want to take a closer look at just some common tactics that powerful people, or people who perceive themselves to be powerful, might use to prop themselves up or to abuse other people, with the takeaway of helping people and showing them how you can apply some tactics to examples in your own life, because I'm nothing if not a teacher and a helper where I can All right.

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The first one is Donald Trump.

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Now, second disclaimer I do not want to make this political.

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This is not anti-Republican, this is not even anti-Trump.

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Oh gosh, the LA Times is calling me.

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Oh my gosh, I'm going to keep recording this podcast.

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I'll get back to that reporter later.

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I think they're tied into really his political tactic.

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I'll just say it.

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The man landed himself right back in the White House.

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It's working.

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I think Steve Bannon was a big reason why he's in the White House the first time around.

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I think he was primarily the reason.

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But what they found in Trump is he really did tell it like it is with thinking and that type of behavior does appeal to certain people.

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Just that straight talking, nonpolitical.

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I'm not a politician.

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I want to drain the swamp.

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It spoke to people.

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It connected with people.

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He was first elected.

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I gave him credit as a matter of fact at a keynote where I highlighted the communication styles of presidents and how it helped them into the White House, and I noted at that time that Trump was the Twitter president.

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He tweeted himself right into the White House, in my opinion, because he knew how to use it, and he still is masterful at communication.

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I am not going to take that from him at communication.

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I am not going to take that from him.

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Morally, I question a lot of the things that he does, but politically got where he got for a reason.

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Just as an aside, politically, I think the Democrats just did not know how to find their candidate in time and they did not.

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Democrats simply just don't know how to build a fan base.

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I think that's just what it comes down to.

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Sometimes you have singers who are Taylor Swift and sometimes you have singers who are not, and sometimes it's just the fan base.

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That is the difference between one talented singer versus the other.

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So the same holds true with politics, but in this case I just want to highlight a press conference from last week.

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I have a new sub stack.

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I want you to look for it, it's Molly McPherson.

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Pr breakdown and sub stack.

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I have different levels of membership.

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I do a weekly email in there, but I added a podcast like an audio element, my article.

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That I did.

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I just did a real quick article based on the American Airlines CEO and how quickly he responded to the crash.

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I of course talking about the regional jet that was involved in a midair collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter.

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That happened last week.

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My goodness, it really rattled me.

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I happened up really early that day and I had mentioned in a TikTok.

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I did several TikToks.

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I usually get up and listen to the Washington Post every morning.

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That's how I get myself out of bed, honestly.

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I'll listen to stories and that's how I wake up in the morning.

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I'll just put headphones in and listen to stories and I'll listen to a couple of them.

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To have that first headline be about.

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That plane crash was very jarring to me.

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I've had two stints living in the Washington DC area.

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I lived in Old Town for two stints.

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That was my airport.

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I lived moments away and, man, it was that easy.

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That was the easiest way to travel back when I lived in Old Town, my goodness.

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But it is so congested there.

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So it's shocking, but not surprising, that something like this would happen.

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But I was following the media coverage and I did watch the press conference at the White House.

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It stopped me in my tracks Like I was just going to have it on in the background, and I stopped everything I was doing because it just struck me how brittle and forceful it was for such a raw moment.

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Presidents are there in times like this, in briefings, to calm, to assure, to grieve.

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That's typically what a leader does in those situations.

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It is a moment to shine.

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So when Donald Trump took the podium, he faced significant backlash.

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This was a tragic mid-air collision over the Potomac River.

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It claimed 67 lives.

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But during that briefing, trump speculated that DEI initiatives, diversity, equity, inclusion at the Federal Aviation Administration, faa might have contributed to the crash, despite providing no evidence whatsoever.

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And the Defense Secretary Hegseth get up there and to have the key message of both their statements be about the incredible job that Donald Trump was doing and how we're going to get to the bottom of it.

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It creates this conspiracy-like thinking that it couldn't just be a tragic accident, okay, that it had to be something else and that someone else faulted.

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Again, not wanting to make this political, but I'm looking at it just from the motivational point of view of what's happening there Now.

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This is politics.

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It's politics, but it's politics driven by personality Pete Buttigieg.

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He was a former transportation secretary under Joe Biden.

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Trump referred to Buttigieg as a disaster and he blamed him and the other Democrats for allegedly mismanagement of the FAA because of DEI.

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Trump also blamed Joe Biden for relaxing FAA hiring standards in pursuit of diversity goals, even though we had no proof of this.

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But he's claiming that could have contributed to the crash just the hiring practices.

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Not to be forgotten that all of this is happening at a time when Trump, in his own words, is trying to quote drain the swamp.

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He is trying to push federal workers out of their jobs.

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That is what I'm honing in on.

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It doesn't matter if it was a Democrat or a Republican at that briefing, it doesn't matter to me, politically it doesn't matter, but I'm looking at the behavior.

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When there is an administration that, right out of the gate, jumping in and creating so much change, it creates this chaos and no one really knows what he's allowed to do, what he's not allowed to do.

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There are reports today, now that Elon Musk he's in the DGOE office now and he is getting into the back end of USAID and all the aid and all the money that goes to nonprofits and churches and he has access to so many people's information.

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And I also read online too, that he's doing this with a team of non-federal employees that are a bunch of young people.

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One is still in college and Trump just gave him the permission to do this.

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Damn, that's scary.

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That's scary stuff.

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But looking at the language that he's using, that Trump said that Buttigieg is to blame.

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So what I think this is more about is a diversionary tactic from someone who is just using power and the puppeteering of power, if you will.

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It's coming in right out of the gate and show you mean business.

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Now, in theory, there's nothing wrong with that right.

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If you're starting a new job, what do you do?

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I'm going to show up early.

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I'm going to show them what I've got.

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This is reckless and that is what some people are definitely saying.

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Pete Buttigieg called his remarks despicable and he accused Trump of lying.

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Instead of leading during a time of mourning which I agree, this was a time of mourning not to immediately blame the helicopter pilots, and not only, like those pilots have families things.

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I heard on Thursday was the father of the pilot, sam Lilly, who's 28 years old.

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He was engaged to be married.

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He's one of the pilots on the regional jet that was from an airline that's a subsidiary of American Airlines.

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His father was saying he's so sad he couldn't even sleep.

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He's just despondent over this, but his father was a career Army black pilot.

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I couldn't even believe that when I heard that.

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So just the tragedy.

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And then also the fact that the pilot, the female pilot's parents, refused to release her name.

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I give them credit for that.

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I wouldn't do it either, knowing the rhetoric that was happening out there.

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Now, of course the Army had to release it.

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It still came out and it was a woman.

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So that fit.

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That DEI claim certainly right in the Army, but it just doesn't work.

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It doesn't match and it's just.

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It's really sad and it's really tragic.

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So in that is it working?

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Like?

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Why is President Trump speaking that way?

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Division, rather than comforting grieving families.

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Representative Robin Kelly described it as dangerous, racist and ignorant, accusing him of prioritizing political agendas over leadership, and the NAACP President, derek Johnson, expressed dismay at Trump's use of the tragedy for political gain.

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Again, everyone's talking about the division and it's not just politicians, aviation experts, disability advocates.

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They're criticizing Trump for making these unfounded claims and the public perception on it was pretty harsh.

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There was a lot of media reaction to it and the media outlets really highlighted Trump's combative tone in these remarks, some comparing the response to his controversial handling of other crises like COVID-19.

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And they noted that his speculative accusations undermine his role as a unifying leader.

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And I think that is the takeaway.

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President Trump had a choice to be a leader or to be a divider.

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He chose to divide and that does diminish the qualities in a leader.

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There are virtues in leadership honesty, transparency.

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He's not showing that.

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He's not showing that.

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And if you look at his language for how he treats women and this is where I get into the poweredness of it and to make it personal and again, not political, but personal If you're someone who feels that you are secondary in relationships, maybe you might be the female in a relationship and think about that press conference and think about the blame and the pointing the fingers.

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Are you someone who's ever been treated that way by a male or a person in more power to you?

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I really struggle looking at Donald Trump as the politician because he makes politics personal.

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So it's hard not to look at him personally.

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It's hard and it doesn't mean that the Democrats are right or that Joe Biden was right.

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It just is what I'm noticing about that behavior.

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And just look at how he speaks about women and the use of the word, for instance, like nasty.

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He frequently uses it in contentious or critical context.

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It's typically women.

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He said that Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, as a nasty woman.

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He later denied it and said that it was taken out of context.

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But he's done it for plenty other women.

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He called Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, a nasty, vindictive, horrible person back in 2019.

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In 2016, during a presidential debate, trump interrupted Hillary Clinton, calling her such a nasty woman.

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She's such a nasty woman.

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Journalist called her nasty and a loser after she questioned him about voter suppression during a 2018 press conference in his first administration.

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There's Senator Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.

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He referred to her you could describe the racial aspect to that and somewhat also sexually charged.

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But then the National Cathedral bishop.

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In January of 2025, he called her remarks nasty in tone after she criticized his leadership choices during a sermon.

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Fun fact that, bishop, when I watched her deliver those remarks I thought the last time I watched an Episcopalian member of the clergy from the pulpit, it was a woman at my brother's first marriage to an Episcopalian member of the clergy from the pulpit.

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It was a woman at my brother's first marriage to an Episcopalian.

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So my Catholic mother, of course, had opinions.

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I remember her saying could we have a blessing by Catholic priests?

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Because I just know in her head she's thinking it's not real.

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Even Episcopalian does it.

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Back to that story.

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I'm watching her thinking, wow, the only other time I watched an Episcopalian from the pulpit it was someone who looked just like this and they talked the same.

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I remember the first time I heard this woman I thought, wow, I should pay attention to Episcopalian.

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I shouldn't dismiss this religion like I've been taught as a Catholic.

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What do you know?

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It was the same woman.

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I couldn't believe it.

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My mom told me that.

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Then my brother wrote to me and he said did you recognize her?

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So that was absolutely crazy.

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But Trump considered her being nasty and I did not consider her nasty at all, I think non-politically.

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She just spoke from a human perspective and I thought that was beautiful, which is really the point of this podcast this week.

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The next one is Ryan Reynolds.

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You may have seen that he was involved in a fake pap walk.

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He made headlines over the weekend because there was video footage of him signing autographs in New York City, but the authenticity of the interactions have been questioned like crazy online.

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Just Google Ryan Reynolds pap walk or stage pap walk, because so many people on social media speculated that the event was staged.

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For your consideration, it was filmed by Baccarat.

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That would be a pay-for-play paparazzi outfit.

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It happened at a.

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It was like a really good event that was designed, it appears, to push Deadpool posters.

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A lot of fans noticed that there was this identical blue tape like painter's tape that was used to affix the merchandise to cardboard.

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They were holding it almost like pizza, like pizza boxes, and the blue tape was seen on so many of them.

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And when he was signing, people captured the signature.

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It was just like a scribble.

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It wasn't even his name or even close to a name, because there are autographs that could be for collectors, that are official, that are official collectibles, but this wasn't.

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This was a literal scribble.

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Now, why would Ryan Reynolds do this?

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The autograph signing occurred amid a legal drama involving Blake Lively and actor Justin Baldoni.

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Some might speculate that it would be a public relations move.

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I'm going to say it was a public relations move and I'll stand by that.

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I have no proof other than what I viewed with my own eyes, but if you've been listening to this podcast and my tech talks my feeling about Ryan Reynolds, also out this week on Hulu there is the documentary that I sat down for, juju Chang from ABC News, who is a co-anchor with Nightline.

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The Nightline story ran on Friday night, I believe, because the plane crash was on Thursday.

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It was supposed to run Thursday but they pushed it to Friday and my guy, greg, he taped it for me.

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So I do have it on DVR but I didn't see it.

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But Greg and I watched the Hulu recording this weekend because my friend Liz in my group chat with my friends.

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She said so there I was looking for something to watch on streaming and there was Molly in this documentary.

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My other friends were like what?

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This was the documentary that I filmed two weeks ago when I went to ABC and it was a good interview, juju Chang, incredibly nice.

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Before we sat down to talk about Blake Lively, juju and the producer and I were talking about aging on camera.

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I think Juju's a couple years older than me, but the younger producer was talking about things to do with your face, what women have to do, and Juju and I were looking at each other.

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Wait, this is not easy and it's not.

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I think the documentary was great.

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I loved the soundbites that they used for me because I kept asking.

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Greg Greg's a news anchor, he's a reporter, he's been at it for decades.

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I trust him above anyone else.

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I can look at him and say yes, no, and if it's not good, he'll tell me.

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And he has.

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If I've ever been shaky on something, but he said oh, you nailed it.

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These were good and I could tell because I had a really good conversation with Juju.

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It was just like a good interview feel powerful in powerful situations.

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Now he was able.

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I'm going to give him credit, just like President Trump.

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I'm going to give Ryan Reynolds credit.

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He was a D-list, c-list actor.

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He got his status by dating Women helped him so strategically.

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He made some good moves there, dated my beloved Alanis Morissette, treated her like garbage allegedly, but dated her.

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They were engaged.

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When he broke up with her.

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She wrote a song called Torch and that album is an accounting of what it was like going through that breakup.

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He was also married to Scarlett Johansson and that relationship ended.

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People speculated when he was in Green Lantern with Blake Lively would be the timing of that marriage ending.

00:20:06.470 --> 00:20:15.517
Scarlett Johansson said that he was a very overpowering, controlling, jealous person, and that matches what a lot of people say about him.

00:20:15.517 --> 00:20:27.060
I said in last week's podcast episode I urge you to listen if you want to get more background on why I really feel this way is he's just someone who's using Blake Lively, who is the marginalized one in their relationship?

00:20:27.060 --> 00:20:28.383
She's over 10 years younger.

00:20:28.383 --> 00:20:39.016
She's been isolated, just like in many abusive marriages isolated financially, socially, geographically, professionally.

00:20:39.016 --> 00:20:41.684
Ryan gets all the rewards.

00:20:41.684 --> 00:20:43.650
Now it doesn't mean that she can't do anything.

00:20:43.650 --> 00:20:44.800
She got to do this movie.

00:20:44.800 --> 00:20:54.584
It ends with us, but she was doing it while Ryan was shooting Deadpool and I contend that Blake Lively got close to Justin Baldoni.

00:20:54.604 --> 00:20:57.507
She's home with four young kids and she's a mother.

00:20:57.507 --> 00:21:02.893
First, I'm sure, and I'm sure she cares about her role as mother greatly, but she misses her old life.

00:21:02.893 --> 00:21:26.655
She's a Hollywood kid, she's a nepo baby, she starred in a lot of movies and she probably did not like living in her house an hour outside of New York, next door to Martha Stewart, who's not a fan of Blake nor Ryan Reynolds and just sitting there while watching her husband traipse around the country, around the world, filming these movies and getting all the accolades and making all the money.

00:21:26.655 --> 00:21:31.310
As a mom of busy mom of four, I can speak from experience on this one.

00:21:31.310 --> 00:21:38.673
It's not easy being successful and really being at the top of your game when you have other people that you have to look out for.

00:21:38.673 --> 00:21:39.453
It's not easy.

00:21:39.882 --> 00:21:48.446
So I give Blake Lively that the downfall of what happened in August with that press run around the premiere of it Ends With Us and Deadpool.

00:21:48.446 --> 00:22:00.969
So much of that was organic, negative media publicity that was created by Blake Lively herself and was highly supported by her husband, ryan Reynolds, just trying to overtake everything and I know this somewhat.

00:22:00.969 --> 00:22:02.863
Inside they were doing a lot of the same things.

00:22:02.863 --> 00:22:07.023
Just anybody else does, including Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' PR team.

00:22:07.023 --> 00:22:10.292
They didn't do anything that no one else has done.

00:22:10.292 --> 00:22:22.112
Blake Lively destroyed her own reputation, but it was engineered by Ryan Reynolds because I think he was jealous of Justin Baldoni and he wanted to blow it up and he got what he deserved.

00:22:22.112 --> 00:22:27.910
So this staged paparazzi event and I'm calling it staged.

00:22:27.910 --> 00:22:36.692
It was so timed well, allegedly staged, but it was timed at the peak moment when they were fighting for their court case.

00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:44.942
Lively originally sued Baldoni in December 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment and attempting to damage her reputation, and Baldoni.

00:22:44.942 --> 00:22:51.240
He counter-sued Lively, reynolds and the New York Times for civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.

00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:55.644
He's seeking $400 million in damages, and good for him.

00:22:55.644 --> 00:23:04.023
See, he's seeking $400 million in damages, and good for him.

00:23:04.023 --> 00:23:04.845
That is how you fight power, with power.

00:23:04.845 --> 00:23:09.172
You tell people you're not going to bully and intimidate me, because that's what Ryan Reynolds did, I think, bringing Taylor Swift in to a meeting.

00:23:09.172 --> 00:23:16.941
So it's Blake Lively, ryan Reynolds, taylor Swift in their penthouse and Ryan Reynolds is absolutely berating and dressing down Justin Baldoni.

00:23:16.941 --> 00:23:19.065
He got his in the end.

00:23:19.326 --> 00:23:22.573
Now will they live for another day, another movie?

00:23:22.573 --> 00:23:29.124
Of course, ryan Reynolds will continue being Ryan Reynolds, blake Lively will continue being Blake Lively, but this will stick with them.

00:23:29.124 --> 00:23:29.806
It will.

00:23:29.806 --> 00:23:38.467
And this buddy with Hugh Jackman Now Hugh Jackman's going to have to tone down his fake relationship alleged with Sutton Foster and these two, the buddy thing.

00:23:38.467 --> 00:23:42.150
They're going to have to tone that down now because people are on to them.

00:23:42.150 --> 00:23:44.011
Everything they're doing is calculated.

00:23:44.011 --> 00:23:44.952
And why?

00:23:44.952 --> 00:24:06.326
Because again, it's a powerful man who's being overpowered Jay-Z and I'm sneaking him in here because I just noticed something this morning when I was watching some of the clips from the Grammys that happened last night Beyonce, his wife, won Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter.

00:24:06.365 --> 00:24:11.462
I'm a little surprised by that, but I guess that means the Grammy community thought that she deserved it.

00:24:11.462 --> 00:24:18.491
I think some of it could be sympathy for what she's going through.

00:24:18.491 --> 00:24:25.788
Jay-z is tethered to Sean Diddy Combs right now and the legal case that he's dealing.

00:24:25.788 --> 00:24:33.804
Sean Diddy Combs now has been incarcerated for a while and Jay-Z's name has always been lurking in the shadows of these cases, lurking in the shadows of these cases.

00:24:33.804 --> 00:24:41.209
There is a lawyer out of Houston who is now going after Jay-Z, and I did.

00:24:41.209 --> 00:24:43.130
I wrote a Forbes article about that.

00:24:43.130 --> 00:24:44.471
I'll put a link in the show notes.

00:24:44.471 --> 00:24:52.635
But Jay-Z is now back on his heels and it really does call into question what Beyonce does Like.

00:24:52.736 --> 00:24:54.317
What did Beyonce know and when?

00:24:54.317 --> 00:24:56.137
What does she know right now?

00:24:56.137 --> 00:25:02.480
And also, what is Beyonce doing Now?

00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.144
She won this award and she's never won this award before.

00:25:04.144 --> 00:25:05.027
It's alluded her in the past.

00:25:05.027 --> 00:25:07.952
But she attended the event with Jay-Z and their third daughter, blue Ivy Carter.

00:25:07.952 --> 00:25:10.124
She was sitting between them.

00:25:10.404 --> 00:25:12.710
I watched it and it seemed awkward.

00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:15.865
If you happen, just Google it, see it, look at it on social media.

00:25:15.865 --> 00:25:17.028
It's awkward.

00:25:17.028 --> 00:25:21.570
I can see two parents sitting on opposite sides of their 13-year-old daughter.

00:25:21.570 --> 00:25:22.092
I see that.

00:25:22.092 --> 00:25:24.083
But why is your daughter there?

00:25:24.083 --> 00:25:28.363
Your daughter's there as the buffer and the daughter's there as a PR move?

00:25:28.363 --> 00:25:34.079
Because they want the public to see that they're parents and this helps Jay-Z more than anyone.

00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:35.401
I guess the jury's out.

00:25:35.401 --> 00:25:41.786
Is Beyonce a patsy in all this or is she part of the calculation to protect Jay-Z Right now?

00:25:41.786 --> 00:25:45.729
She is, but is she while she's winning this Grammy?

00:25:45.729 --> 00:25:57.678
Is she plotting to leave Jay-Z to separate herself legally, from not only the criminal aspect, allegedly, but from a marriage point of view and their money?

00:25:57.678 --> 00:25:58.521
They're moguls.

00:25:58.521 --> 00:26:00.848
They are music moguls.

00:26:00.848 --> 00:26:13.563
Right now, they are both using their daughter as PR collateral, if you will, to take the sting out of the reputation and the hit that Jay-Z took in December.

00:26:14.223 --> 00:26:19.762
Taylor Swift announcing the award and clinking glasses, jay-z, I don't know what I think of that move.

00:26:19.762 --> 00:26:23.903
Celebrate Beyonce, sure Taylor, I could get behind that, but no Clinking with Jay-Z.

00:26:23.903 --> 00:26:25.849
I know these things happen at a moment.

00:26:25.849 --> 00:26:28.548
They just happen and you're congratulating everyone.

00:26:28.548 --> 00:26:37.191
But the reason why I thought it was a little awkward is that Blue Ivy being the young daughter that she is, she didn't stand up to immediately congratulate her mom because she was being a 13-year-old.

00:26:37.191 --> 00:26:39.654
I'm not standing up, you can just see it.

00:26:39.654 --> 00:26:45.106
Beyonce was left to just stand up on her own and she genuinely looked stunned.

00:26:45.106 --> 00:26:47.728
And then Jay-Z's oh, oh, blue Ivy's not standing up.

00:26:47.728 --> 00:27:04.428
So I got to stand up and he just walked over to her and he said something in her ear that people on social media, like lip lip readers, were trying to figure out, and I don't.

00:27:04.428 --> 00:27:06.874
I didn't find anyone who could figure it out yet, but it wasn't like a congratulatory kiss of a close husband and wife.

00:27:06.874 --> 00:27:07.836
Let's just say there was a coldness there.

00:27:07.836 --> 00:27:08.258
I felt a coldness.

00:27:08.258 --> 00:27:10.906
He said something nice perhaps, but no, kiss, nothing.

00:27:10.906 --> 00:27:16.469
This should be a meaningful win for Beyonce, because she became the first black woman in 50 years to win a country music Grammy.

00:27:16.469 --> 00:27:20.288
On stage expressed her shock and gratitude.

00:27:20.288 --> 00:27:22.705
So it was all real, it was all authentic.

00:27:22.705 --> 00:27:29.732
But it is a PR move because Jay-Z is in serious legal trouble.

00:27:29.732 --> 00:27:34.692
He's using his wife and his daughter as protection.

00:27:34.692 --> 00:27:36.105
Why does this matter?

00:27:36.105 --> 00:27:41.122
Wife and his daughter as protection.

00:27:41.122 --> 00:27:42.065
Why does this matter?

00:27:42.105 --> 00:27:43.229
The context of power dynamics and relationships.

00:27:43.229 --> 00:27:48.684
So, whether it's American citizen, president, voter, actor, fan ticket buyer, or is it a personal relationship?

00:27:48.684 --> 00:27:50.648
Is it a romantic relationship?

00:27:50.648 --> 00:27:51.912
Is it your partner?

00:27:51.912 --> 00:27:52.881
Is it your parent?

00:27:52.881 --> 00:27:54.443
Is it a colleague?

00:27:54.443 --> 00:28:05.471
Whatever it is, some people have more power over the other and some people get that power over control, and I mentioned financial dependence and social isolation.

00:28:05.471 --> 00:28:08.851
Those are tactics that are used in a professional relationship.

00:28:08.851 --> 00:28:12.631
An employer may have more power of an employee because of their position or their resources.

00:28:12.631 --> 00:28:24.103
So when you start thinking about these types of power plays, consider all the aspects of relationships when you evaluate them.

00:28:24.123 --> 00:28:43.172
So there are six different ways that people use power to take control over situations using more manipulative means, and it could be from a powerful public figure or someone in your life, one there's gaslighting and that's manipulating someone into questioning their own sanity or perception of events.

00:28:43.172 --> 00:28:55.496
So for a colleague or a boss, or in the news, it could be a CEO denying making a sexist remark during a meeting, even though several people witnessed or heard it.

00:28:55.496 --> 00:29:00.997
It's the same thing as Trump claiming he never made comments like that or never said that when he did.

00:29:00.997 --> 00:29:05.190
They want to suggest that other people are misunderstanding the situation.

00:29:05.190 --> 00:29:06.362
That's what gaslighting is.

00:29:06.362 --> 00:29:15.367
It's not just deflecting an accusation, it's turning it around and blaming the person and make them think they're crazy for thinking it.

00:29:15.868 --> 00:29:21.817
Another tactic is coercion, and that's using threats, pressure or force to get someone to do something.

00:29:21.817 --> 00:29:30.383
That could be like a famous musician threatening to cancel a tour if a manager doesn't agree to a specific contract, or telling the public I'm not going to do this.

00:29:30.383 --> 00:29:32.689
If you keep attacking me or if the people on the internet keep attacking me, I'm not going to go on tour.

00:29:32.689 --> 00:29:33.691
I'm not going to do this.

00:29:33.691 --> 00:29:39.346
If you keep attacking me or if the people on the internet keep attacking me, I'm not going to go on tour.

00:29:39.346 --> 00:29:40.390
I'm not going to do this.

00:29:40.390 --> 00:29:44.423
It's they want to get people to comply.

00:29:44.423 --> 00:29:50.314
Look in your life for ways that people force you to comply.

00:29:50.314 --> 00:29:58.294
Again, I think President Trump does this in his demands now of federal workers.

00:29:58.294 --> 00:30:04.834
He wants all federal agencies to comply to DEI standards, removing them essentially from every department.

00:30:04.834 --> 00:30:11.053
There's a lot of or else in our politics right now, in our federal government, which is frightening.

00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:13.121
The coercion happened with Justin Baldoni.

00:30:13.121 --> 00:30:14.342
The coercion happened with Justin Baldoni.

00:30:14.342 --> 00:30:22.008
Brian Reynolds allegedly was threatening Justin Baldoni and he was pressuring him, like by having Taylor Swift in the room with Blake Lively.

00:30:22.008 --> 00:30:24.288
It was pressure.

00:30:24.288 --> 00:30:27.232
He had the same agent as Ryan and Blake.

00:30:27.232 --> 00:30:33.259
Ryan Reynolds likely pressured the agent to drop Justin Baldoni.

00:30:33.259 --> 00:30:37.242
Justin Baldoni's podcast co-star also dropped him.

00:30:37.863 --> 00:30:40.025
Guess what she used to do work with Ryan Reynolds.

00:30:40.025 --> 00:30:56.021
She maybe felt pressure too with us stood by Blake Lively during the premiere of it Ends With Us when Justin Baldoni was literally taken to the basement, stuck in the basement, probably coerced.

00:30:56.021 --> 00:31:02.314
She was pressured into doing that and there's something to be said for her coming off of social media, deleting her Instagram.

00:31:02.314 --> 00:31:04.098
She doesn't want to play that game anymore.

00:31:04.098 --> 00:31:05.953
She wants to take herself out.

00:31:06.916 --> 00:31:15.432
Another tactic I mentioned before is isolation, that's, separating someone from their support system, controlling their communication and limiting their social interactions.

00:31:15.432 --> 00:31:19.942
I 100% think that Ryan Reynolds is doing this to Blake Lively.

00:31:19.942 --> 00:31:25.911
That's just what the dynamic in their marriage is and I think this whole it ends with us blew up because he was jealous.

00:31:25.911 --> 00:31:35.277
It happened during the writer's strike and that's the reason why Ryan Reynolds came home in the middle of the shoot and while Blake was home in the middle of the shoot, all of a sudden, the writing became different.

00:31:35.277 --> 00:31:36.480
The demands became different.

00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:38.835
Blake Lively was demanding to see the dailies.

00:31:38.835 --> 00:31:46.482
Everything moved and Justin Baldoni showing that evidence in the text and the voice notes that he's putting out there for the public.

00:31:46.482 --> 00:31:48.957
It's just all about controlling.

00:31:49.397 --> 00:31:53.156
President Trump again is going to do that For isolation.

00:31:53.156 --> 00:31:55.242
President Trump does that with his enemies.

00:31:55.242 --> 00:31:56.352
He'll isolate.

00:31:56.352 --> 00:31:59.318
Jd Vance got isolated during the election season.

00:31:59.318 --> 00:32:00.782
He was not happy with JD Vance.

00:32:00.782 --> 00:32:03.913
He is in the fold right now, but I predict JD Vance will be out of the fold soon.

00:32:03.913 --> 00:32:08.200
Jd Vance doesn't help Donald Trump in any way, so I don't see him in there.

00:32:08.200 --> 00:32:12.125
Duffy helps him as a transportation secretary.

00:32:12.125 --> 00:32:20.238
Hegseth helps him right now, but I think if there's one misstep with Hegseth, he's out and then Trump will isolate him.

00:32:20.869 --> 00:32:21.932
Trump has a way.

00:32:21.932 --> 00:32:28.981
Like John Kelly, general John Kelly, his former chief of staff If you turn against Trump, you are going to be isolated from Trump.

00:32:28.981 --> 00:32:31.570
That's just a tactic.

00:32:31.570 --> 00:32:32.092
That happens.

00:32:32.092 --> 00:32:35.601
Look at what's happening with Sean Combs and Jay-Z, who they isolate.

00:32:35.601 --> 00:32:36.932
How do they treat Kanye?

00:32:36.932 --> 00:32:45.676
How do they treat 50 Cent, like Jamie Foxx coming out and making really deep accusations against Sean Combs about how he was treated?

00:32:46.218 --> 00:32:48.582
Trivializing is just another way.

00:32:48.582 --> 00:32:49.884
It helps the gaslighting.

00:32:49.884 --> 00:32:59.076
It's just brushing off concerns as nothing and people minimizing you, saying you're being too selfish, you're being too sensitive, you're overreacting.

00:32:59.076 --> 00:33:06.597
Look at what Ryan Reynolds did in Deadpool when his Nice Pool character was based off of Justin Baldoni.

00:33:06.597 --> 00:33:13.517
He was trivializing Justin Baldoni's approach to his connection to females.

00:33:13.517 --> 00:33:18.612
That nice pool character trivialized Justin Baldoni's views towards women.

00:33:18.612 --> 00:33:23.728
Now, yeah, justin probably used a lot of it as part of his brand.

00:33:23.728 --> 00:33:25.493
But it's very hard to make something your brand.

00:33:25.493 --> 00:33:27.019
It's very difficult to do when you don't believe it.

00:33:27.019 --> 00:33:36.582
And if you watch that Hulu documentary about Blake and Ryan and I encourage you to do it for this reason for this podcast you can see, really, I think, who Justin really is.

00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:37.892
But what about personally?

00:33:37.892 --> 00:33:39.195
If this is happening to you?

00:33:39.195 --> 00:33:42.651
One just have some self-awareness and reflection.

00:33:42.651 --> 00:33:43.971
The mirror test.

00:33:43.971 --> 00:33:45.433
I talk about this with my clients a lot.

00:33:45.433 --> 00:33:49.637
Understand your own bias, your own beliefs and power dynamics in your life.

00:33:49.637 --> 00:33:50.818
Do you use them?

00:33:50.818 --> 00:33:55.243
Challenge yourself If you do change.

00:33:55.243 --> 00:33:58.672
Also, promote open communication, ethical boundaries.

00:33:58.672 --> 00:34:00.154
Do that in the workplace.

00:34:00.154 --> 00:34:01.798
Do it in your life.

00:34:01.798 --> 00:34:08.081
If you have problems with your partner, your spouse, establish clear and respectful communication channels.

00:34:08.081 --> 00:34:17.597
Help create a safe space where both of you feel comfortable voicing concerns and setting boundaries Also challenge harmful behaviors and power imbalances.

00:34:17.938 --> 00:34:25.251
Speak up against injustice and inequality, even in small situations where it helps to create a culture where abuse is less likely to occur.

00:34:25.251 --> 00:34:26.996
Or stand up in front of the pulpit.

00:34:26.996 --> 00:34:41.045
If you're an Episcopalian bishop and you seriously worry about people in the country who are worried about their livelihood, about citizenship moved from their families, about their jobs, stand up for that.

00:34:41.045 --> 00:34:43.512
Support that and support and empower others.

00:34:43.512 --> 00:34:46.860

298: Analyzing Power Dynamics: Trump, Reynolds, and Jay-Z Under the PR Microscope

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