Why using humor with the media is dangerous
A twist in the story of the infamous Twitter lawsuit, which went viral on Twitter Tuesday, shows why even if reporters have a sense of humor, trying to be funny doesn’t always come out in print the way you expected.
It also shows that getting PR help and media training after a gaffe is like buying a burglar alarm after your house is robbed.
Horizon, a real-estate management company in Chicago, filed a $50,000 lawsuit against Amanda Bonnen after she sent what they claimed was a “malicious and defamatory” tweet: “Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it’s OK.”
While responding to questions about the suit, one of the owners of Horizon, Jeffrey Michael, gave the Chicago Sun Times what seemed like one of the most outrageously honest quotes in recent history: “We’re a sue first, ask questions later kind of organization.”
As word spread across the internet, Michael realized his mistake. He—and a PR firm he apparently brought in to help rescue him—sent out a statement apologizing for his “tongue and cheek comments” regarding his company’s approach to litigation. And of course he added the old “out of context” excuse.
He went on to explain that Horizon’s lawsuit came in response to a class action lawsuit Bonnen has filed against his company. At the end of the statement—which should have been at the beginning—he said his company takes allegations of mold very seriously.
Even if Michael was being flip, he obviously doesn’t understand how reporters work and how irresistible his quote would be. If his company was going to sue someone over a tweet, shouldn’t he have been prepared with his statement before the media called rather than after?
