Could something other than "ethics" and "moral judgment" have forced The Insider and Entertainment Tonight to pull the controversial (and totally lame, showing nothing) clip of Heath at a Hollywood party? Fat chance. Looks like the PR firm ID, along with publicity powerhouses like BWR, and possibly several stars, have strong-armed the network into nixing the clip. The Telegraph reports:
After seeing a promotion for the show, a publicist at ID, Ledger's public relations firm, called ET and asked that the segment be pulled. The request was allegedly refused.
ID then composed a three-paragraph protest letter that it distributed to some 30 other pr firms around Hollywood, asking them to tell their clients about what was about to happen.
The circle included powerhouse publicists like PMK-HBH, 42 West and BWR. The letter claimed ET had paid a large sum of money for the video that would stir up an exploitive story about Ledger.
"For the sake of his grieving family and friends, his child and common decency, we hope to pressure 'Entertainment Tonight' and 'The Insider' to do the right thing and pull the spot," the letter said. "This is not journalism, it is sensationalism. It is a shameful exploitation of the lowest kind, to a talented and gentle soul, undeserving of such treatment."
Stars, studio executives and PR firms all called "ET" to register protests, said Kelly Bush, CEO of ID.
The star-studded roster of ID alone includes Robin Williams, Sean Penn, Tobey Maguire, Mike Myers, Jennifer Hudson, Katie Holmes, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ledger's "Brokeback" co-star Jake Gyllenhaal.
No boycott was threatened, Bush said. But when a television show that needs celebrities like living things need oxygen hears from so many powerful sources, a threat probably wasn't necessary. Not a spoken one, anyway.
Executives at "Entertainment Tonight" refused to comment on the decision to block the video. [Telegraph]
