Image Repair Campaign Strategies Addressing Race: Paula Deen, Social Media, and Defiance

(In)Sincere Demeanor and (In)Sincere Language in Crisis Communication

“…When celebrity restauranteur Paula Deen sustained a crisis over racism, she released multiple apology videos on YouTube, but the sincerity of her words and demeanor appeared to conflict (Len-Ríos et al, 2015). Her first message comported with image repair theory’s tenets, but people doubted her sincerity.…”

“…Seminal research in crisis communication suggests that sincere language is not necessarily the same as sincere demeanor (Benoit, 2015). A spokesperson being sincere in behavior/demeanor and language appear to be distinct perceptions in the processing of a crisis response (Len-Ríos et al, 2015). The golfer Tiger Woods serves as an example of comporting with all the suggested features of successful crisis communication and yet still failing because of exuding insincerity (Benoit, 2013).…”

“…So she released another video. In the second, her nonverbal demeanor seemed sincere but the verbal messaging seemed sketchy (Len-Ríos et al, 2015). She next gave an interview on The Today Show in which her nonverbal delivery diverged from conveying sincere demeanor and her word choices showed that she was deflecting specific accusations and thus exhibiting evasion and obfuscation.…”

“…Deen never quite succeeded in aligning the sincerity of her communicative actions in demeanor and words, and thereby her crisis communication efforts reportedly failed. If Deen had been sincere in information disclosures and behavior, according to Len-Ríos et al (2015), one crisis response should have sufficed. Alas, however, in the video clips and TV interview "her words and actions did not match" (p. 157).…”