Celebrity Reputation Management

For those who don’t know, Kylie Minogue is a vastly popular Australian pop-artist. Many have called her the counterpart to America’s Madonna. She has performed with some of the most popular pop-artists in America, Japan, and Australia—and has been a significant figure in the music arena since 1990 at least. You may remember her as the young woman who sang at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games wearing a pink silk beaded corset and diamante headdress. I’m fairly sure I don’t even know what a diamante headdress is. Minogue has sold more than 60 million albums, and has been featured in an assortment of films and popular Australian TV shows—but she is not catching bad press because of her performances on the stage or on film. She is catching bad press because PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has listed her as “Worst Dressed of 2008” because she was seen carrying a python skin purse. The feathered boas and the elaborate headdresses do not matter—it is the fashionable purse made from questionable material that makes her sense of fashion abhorrent.

PETA had this to say on the subject:

“What does Kylie Minogue have in common with her python purse?” PETA asks on its website.

“They are both cold-blooded. Come on Kylie, it’s not cool to clutch an accessory made by nailing snakes to a tree and skinning them alive.”

Naturally, Ms. Minogue does not merit this award and is only under the gun because she is a popular celebrity and this will catch headlines for the PETA organization in Australia. She could use some “Celebrity Reputation Management“.