A crisis PR professional shares what celebrities get right — and wrong — about their public apologies

PR expert Molly McPherson told Insider that while Jamie Foxx's apology went "all in" on accountability, Lizzo's statement used "100% deniability."

• Crisis PR professional Molly McPherson shared what some celebs got right and wrong with their recent public statements.
• She said Insider Jamie Foxx's apology for alleged antisemitic comments was a success. 
• But Lizzo's statement after former dancers accused her of sexual harassment fell flat, McPherson said.

August was full of celebrity drama. 

On August 1, three former dancers filed a lawsuit against Lizzo, claiming sexual harassment, false imprisonment, weight shaming, and accused the singer of treating Black dancers with less respect than their white colleagues. Four days later, fans accused Jamie Foxx of making an antisemitic Instagram post and slammed Jennifer Aniston after she denied liking his initial post. 

Ne-Yo faced criticism over comments about gender identity the same day, while Taryn Manning got flack on August 14 after the actor shared that she was dating a married man.

Most recently, the subjects of "The Blind Side" became embroiled in a legal dispute after Michael Oher, whose relationship with the Tuohy family was documented in the movie, accused the Tuohys of exploiting him on August 17. 

In a few of the abovementioned cases, celebs released statements that saw varying degrees of success.

While some managed to keep their reputation intact with an apology, others played hardball and stumbled into public backlash.

Molly McPherson, a crisis PR professional with more than two decades of public relations, emergency management, and media experience, told Insider what it takes to make a solid public statement and why some celebrities don't get it right. 

McPherson uses a simple phrase to determine if a celebrity apology hits the mark: "Own it. Explain it. Promise it." 

Gone are the days when celebrities dodged controversy with "no comment." According to McPherson, it's "incredibly important" for stars to address accusations as they happen because, without it, online fans are left to their own conclusions.

"I would make it one of the most important parts of a response, simply because in the absence of a firsthand account, people on social media will make it for you," she said. 

For an apology to land with audiences, McPherson said celebrities should "own" up to the accusations, "explain" why the incident occurred, and "promise" they won't make the same mistake twice.

"I've noticed that fans and the public give grace and redemption to the people who admit their faults. For the people who try to skirt these issues, they get stuck," she said. 

When fans accused Foxx of sharing an antisemitic Instagram post, he didn't dismiss his accusers or their concerns, McPherson told Insider.

Instead, McPherson said that he owned, explained, and promised a different outcome.

Some celebrity statements are better than others, according to McPherson

When asked which celebrity had a solid response to online controversy in the last few weeks, McPherson pointed to Jamie Foxx.

McPherson also said that Foxx's scandal had "minimal news impact." 

"It's a story that came and went in part because he acknowledged that his words may have hurt people, put it into context why it happened, and then promised to do better," she said, adding that Foxx chose to "go all in on accountability." 

At the time, Foxx wrote on Instagram: "I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post. I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I'm sorry. That was never my intent. To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that's what I meant with 'they' not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended." 

In contrast, McPherson said Lizzo's Instagram statement on August 3 didn't have the same effect, and fans continued criticizing her in the weeks following the lawsuit.

"Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed," Lizzo's statement read. "These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

McPherson said the statement was likely a win for Lizzo's legal team but did little to reassure fans.

"They are choosing 100% deniability in order for Lizzo to walk away with very minimal damage from a legal perspective," McPherson said. "However, it almost always guarantees reputational damage. As soon as she clears the legal fences, she immediately then has to go into reputation recovery mode." 

She added: "How do you restore trust if you're not going to own up to anything you were accused of?" 

What audiences want from celebrity apologies is accountability, McPherson said, which is questionable in Lizzo's case, she added. 

"There wasn't any acknowledgment that Lizzo had any part in the dancer's accusations or their disappointment. There was no context as to why the events happened and transpired from the banana incident to the weight shaming," McPherson said. "The only explanation was accusing the dancers of flat-out lying." 

Regardless of strategy, McPherson acknowledged that avoiding backlash altogether isn't a viable option 

Whether a celebrity apologizes or fights allegations, backlash is almost certain, McPherson told Insider. She pointed toward the Bud Light controversy in April when conservatives protested the beverage after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted it on her social media accounts. 

"People are more comfortable with polarization, giving their views, and, in many cases, people more comfortable calling people out." 

She added: "People love pointing fingers at others. No one gets off scot-free nowadays without some explanation for why it happened."