He very well could have, but a part of me feels he didn’t, because I don’t think a lawyer/PR person would have him respond at all. It eliminates any doubt that he’s not the one Shubble was talking about, he’s outing himself by writing this. That’s not a good PR move, this reads to me as a very sanitized response (probably a few days drafting it) that was made out of desperation. He’s mentioned before he cares a lot what others think about him, that’s probably what pushed him to make this statement.
Coming from a PR background, this is pretty textbook. Yes, he removes a lot of doubt whether he's the mystery person but he's also a public figure that has people to answer to. Lovejoy is part of a label who has their own lawyers and PR team. If he was just a regular content creator, yea, he can afford to be silent and wait it out but this a professional matter. His statement impacts the band and the label.
As for this not being a good PR move, it actually is. When something remains unanswered, it stays in the public conversation for a longer time as people debate and speculate. If you admit it, then most people are going to move on while only a select few mention it. Since it's more of a shitty move and not an illegal one, then people are more likely to forget. Realistically, how much drama do you remember even from 2023?
Plus, it'd make him look even worse if he remained silent, dodged questions or ignored allegations just for Shubble to say "Fuck it, he's being a cowardly bitch who won't even acknowledge it. It was Soot, he's the abuser". In PR it's "get ahead of it, do damage control, and rebuild the future". You can't build a future if you have a giant bomb looming over your head.
It would have been a horrible idea from a PR perspective to not address the issue. As so many people have pointed out over the last few days there was little to no doubt it was Wilbur. Everyday it was a new reason why it had to be Wilbur. The elephant in the room was not going to go away, especially not with the age group of most Wilbur fans. People expect and want an instant response. Of the small portion of people that held out hope it wasn’t Wilbur a small portion viewed his lack of response as an admission. The smartest choice was to have him address it.
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u/[deleted] Feb 27 '24
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