UNWANTED OPINIONS & NEGATIVE BACKLASH: THE JOE WICKS EDITION

Just over a week ago, Joe Wicks hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons, leaving his reputation hanging in the balance.

‘The Body Coach’ has been on a publicity tour to promote his new book, ‘Fitter, Healthier, Happier’ which is described on Amazon as “a breakthrough book to get young readers moving and feeling good. Inspiring and motivating and fully illustrated throughout, Fitter, Healthier, Happier is an accessible look at the key ingredients to a healthy, happy body: exercise, nutrition, sleep and a healthy mind.”

As part of his publicity tour, Wicks was interviewed by musician, music promoter, music journalist and radio DJ, Nihal Arthanayake for the BBC 5 Live podcast Headliners’ which was broadcast on 9th April.

He then hit the actual headlines the very next day when it was revealed that he ‘blames ultra-processed foods for the explosion of children with ADHD’ (as reported by The Daily Mail and other national news outlets)

Usually portrayed as the villain, 'The Media' was able to turn the table on Wicks and use his own words in their headlines. The result was damaging. The saviour of PE during the Global Pandemic was on a slippery slope and being shamed for airing his (factually inaccurate) opinions.

And this is a valuable lesson that brands and personal brands alike need to learn - you cannot air your opinions on a global platform and not expect any repercussions - especially if you’re not qualified to speak about the topic, therefore responsible for spreading lies and misinformation (in a world where this is rife on social media platforms that don’t seem to adhere to any rules, or codes of conduct)

So, what actually happened, and could this have been avoided?

The interview between Joe Wicks and Nihal Arthanayake lasted just under 39 minutes. Headliners is a podcast, so it would have been pre-recorded and released during Wicks’ publicity tour.

As a podcast, it can be edited.

But it wasn’t.

The production team would have listened to it multiple times and the editing teams would have listened to it multiple times. Yet they all made the decision to leave the damning comments in the interview. And also made the decision not to give Wicks and his PR team a heads up that things were about to blow up for all the wrong reasons (unless they did and this was all part of their plan, but that thought blows my mind, so I won’t go there!)

I have listened to the interview, and the comment that he made was over within seconds, buried within his response to a question about the book and why he’s so passionate about educating children on diet and nutrition and the link it has to mental and physical wellbeing.

(Click to listen to the full interview)

If you zoned out while listening you could easily have missed it, as it was said when Wicks’ was explaining his own behaviour as a child, which he believes was fuelled by the food he had access to. He started saying that he’s fairly sure that he would have been diagnosed with ADHD if tests were available back in the 80s, but then he shot himself in the foot and said that he thinks that so many children are diagnosed as ADHD because of ultra-processed foods.

He thinks.

Thinks.

He doesn’t know.

Therefore he’s not qualified to make such claims. It might be something you can discuss with your best mate while on a Sunday morning run, but not on a podcast on a global platform that reaches millions of people around the world, many of whom will also have children who have been diagnosed with ADHD, or have been diagnosed themselves.

Unfortunately for Wicks, that one sentence provided the mainstream media with the perfect headline that didn’t need any creative input to make it more salacious. He’d done their jobs for them.

Not only did national newspapers publish the story, but so did other media outlets such as HuffPost and Women’s Health. Social media was also rife with content creators, personal trainers, nutritionists and those in the neurodivergent community responding to his claims.

Good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster and this was the worst time to be hit with a PR crisis!

Crisis Comms 101

A crisis is very rarely welcome, but when you’re on an active promo tour for your latest book launch, this was a faux pas he could have done without! Naturally, an apology was made by Wicks, who recorded a video in his kitchen and posted it on social media (you can see it here via Metro). Finally, his PR team was stepping in and taking control of the situation - hurrah! - but they seemed to forget to brief him on how to deliver an apology ??

Rather than apologising for spreading misinformation and taking ownership for what he said, Wicks’ decided to apologise for the headlines and how shit they were (his words). And then, almost combatively, said that he knows that ADHD is a neurological disorder, and said that he meant to say that children are being misdiagnosed with ADHD (which is also factually inaccurate), therefore digging himself further into a hole.

Regardless of what he meant to say, he shouldn’t have been saying it in the first place. There’s one thing having an opinion in private, or during a discussion to educate yourself on neurodivergence, but a global platform is not the place to be sharing your opinion, especially if your opinion isn’t formed by data, science or information, but simply by what you believe.

As an influencer, Wicks’ has a responsibility to take ownership of what he’s saying. He has legions of fans and followers who listen to him, look up to him and possibly even idolise him. Because of this, he has a duty of care to educate them properly by sharing factual information, not opinions formed by his own experiences.

Long-term effects

Interestingly, HarperCollins, the publisher of Wicks’ new book didn’t make a statement about the situation and their thoughts on the matter. Maybe they didn’t want to add fuel to the fire by getting involved, but their lack of response speaks volumes to me.

Turning a blind eye doesn’t make you less guilty by association. Choosing not to say something says much more about them and their ethics (as well as how they treat their authors in a time of crisis)

In the short-term, other than a wave of negative headlines and a load of content going viral on social media with people throwing their two cents in, it doesn’t look like any damage has been caused (that we’ve seen)

However, Wicks is involved in many brand deals, including one with Aviva which was announced just days before the Headliners podcast was broadcast. Being associated with negative behaviour is never a good look for brands, both in the moment and in the future.

I’m sure Aviva will continue to work with him as time, money and effort will have already been invested in the partnership as well as the PR, Marketing and Advertising campaign. But the Shareholders and Stakeholders at Aviva, as well as their customers, may not be too happy about the situation, which could also have a negative impact on the reputation of Aviva too.?

Consumers vote with their feet, which is why it’s also important to do your due diligence before working with influencers (I’ll be writing about this topic over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for that!)

As for future work? Wicks’ may not be flavour of the month any more. Brands that have been eyeing him up as an ambassador or collaborator may choose to look elsewhere and use an influencer with less risk attached to them. If he was already in talks with other brands then they too may decide to pull out of discussions, or at least lay low for a while until this all blows over, which it will, but no-one can prepare for the impact this can have and how deep it will run.

As Warren Buffet said:

“It can take 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

So, what can you learn from this experience?

1. Invest in media training before being interviewed by a journalist - podcasts can easily feel more relaxed than a radio interview because it’s longer in length and pre-recorded - but don’t get complacent and let your guard down
2. When a crisis hits, get your PR team involved as quickly as possible to handle the fallout. Let them guide you on how to accept responsibility and apologise in a way that feels genuine (ie. actually apologise for your actions)
3. Your apology needs to be genuine.? Consumers (and the press) can smell BS a mile off. If you want to stop the rot from spreading, be authentic, otherwise you’ll end up in the press again (as Wicks’ did here in The Daily Mirror)

To make sure that your reputation is intact across all the channels you use to communicate with customers, stakeholders and shareholders, then I’d recommend investing in a Comms Audit to ensure your vision, mission and values are being communicated effectively.

From May 2024 onwards I'll be offering Comms Audits, so do get in touch if you’d like to find out more and book one in.