One of the hardest decisions in public relations is weighing when to leave well-enough alone. When Steve Jobs took a very public exception to his new unauthorized biography, it boosted book sales. When the William Morris Agency sued the New York Post’s “Page Six,” it only drew more attention to the negative item the gossip column reported about the company. Now, as if we haven’t heard enough about Jane Fonda, we learn that a Kentucky theatre owner is boycotting the showing of Ms. Fonda’s new movie “Monster-in-Law” to protest her activism during the Vietnam War. While the theatre owner doesn’t seem upset with the domestic comedy itself, his action may just have the reverse effect. It puts the film back in the news now that the two initial media blitzes — for the movie and Ms. Fonda’s new book — are behind us. (I hope Jane has points in the film.)
What’s ironic about all of this is that during the media blitz for the book Jane apologized for her visit to Hanoi during the war saying it was a big mistake. I guess the theatre owner wasn’t appeased.