Jane Fonda Celebrates a V-Day Crisis

NBC apologized Thursday for itself and actress Jane Fonda, after an offensive word was spoken on the “Today Show.”
Jane Fonda sat alongside writer and feminist activist Eve Ensler on the set of the “Today Show,” to discuss Ensler’s work, “The Vagina Monologues.” “The Vagina Monologues” is a play in which women speak openly about their bodies and sexuality. It focuses on female empowerment and the woman as an individual. Fonda will be appearing in the 10th anniversary performance.
Fonda was answering a questioned posed by “Today Show” co-host Meredith Vieira, and accidentally used the exact term for the monologue. Fonda was explaining her reason why she declined when the term was uttered. NBC felt the need to address this issue and appointed Co-host Vieira to inform the viewers of the apology ten minutes later. Fonda’s use of the c-word may have offended a number of viewers. Consequently, “Today” used a still photograph of Fonda during later airings of the show in order to cover-up the mistake.

This was quick thinking on behalf of NBC, who was forced to handle the sudden “crisis” in a timely manner. The television network NBC, nor the “Today Show” host had any inclination that Fonda was going to utter this remark. However, in television, these mishaps occur. Therefore, effective crisis management is imperative. The crisis must be identified, if possible, before it occurs and handled before it becomes a major issue. The public relations effort was effective. Before this information could hit the high-speed internet, NBC took control of the situation by offering an apology on air. It was important that NBC took the drama out of the crisis. If NBC had not apologized for this mishap, perhaps a media backlash would have occurred and the outcome would have been worse.