One of our readers, Tom Murro, checked out Jennifer Love Hewitt’s book signing (for her new book, The Day I Shot Cupid) in NJ last night, here’s his report:
This past Tuesday I met with the owner of the book/toy store [where the signing was going to be held] and her manager and was given clearance for my interview and for a photo with Jennifer Love Hewitt.
When I showed up, I watched Hewitt and her crew bypass by about 200 or so waiting fans outside and slip into the back door. After she entered the store she completely ignored her fans and the press. I attempted to approach Jennifer to introduce myself and her publicist stepped in between us and not so politely pointed for me to walk the other way. My photographer then tried talking to her and she rudely turned her back and blew us off. My photographer and I waited downstairs as Jeniffer was escorted by her manager, publicist, 2 goons, 1 N.J. state cop, 1 local cop and a few guards from the store. Then, they strategically roped her into an area nearest to the door so she would have an easy escape in the event a crazed fan decided to attack. I stood there thinking what the hell is this?
They announced her like the Queen of England ”Ladies and Gentleman..Miss Jennifer Love Hewitt!” as she walked into the room. One cop was standing there with his hand on his baton ready to pounce the instant someone made a false move, it was all so embarrassing to watch.
I’ve met and interviewed 2 seated presidents including President Obama and at least 50 celebs and I have never seen such a disgusting show put on by a publicist before. Shortly after this I walked up to the publicist and explained that I’m with Celebritymagnet.com and that my being photographed with her is the hook to website and I’ll be giving Jennifer and the book quite a bit of fun publicity. She rudely said I don’t care who you are and we’ll pass! Please leave the area! The publicist, looking down her nose, basically treated the members of the press like second class citizens. She allowed only 5 photographers of the 20 or so that were waiting outside literally 30 seconds to photograph Jennifer before they were shooed away and were strictly prohibited to take any photos of Jennifer behind the table.
They only allowed about 20 fans into the store at a time and none of the fans were allowed to take photos.
I later found out from one of the employees that Jennifer’s crew showed up 4 hours earlier to survey the store and parking lot for escape routes and even demanded that the employees leave during the process. I can tell you with first hand knowledge that the U.S. Secret Service does a fine job protecting someone far more important and my meeting and being photographed with President Obama was a much easier and pleasant experience.
I guess the moral of the story is Jennifer Love Hewitt (busy) President Obama (not so busy).
Jennifer is holding another book signing at Barnes & Noble, Grove Drive, Los Angeles, CA on 3/27/10 7:00 PM.
If you attend this book signing or any of her other upcoming events for the book’s release, let us know what you think about her behavior. Do you think she’s being a diva or is she just a cautious celeb?
It would be one thing if she was walking down the street and didn’t want to make time, but she’s trying to publicize her book. “Bad publicity is better than no publicity” must be her motto, but it doesn’t work for me. I won’t be buying her book. Thanks for the story.
Yeah,the draconian tactics of True Public Relations (CeCe Yorke and Sarah Fuller) belong in the Dinosaur era…the last century.
Poor Love Hewitt! To be stuck with these goons for nearly 20 years. Well,the end is in sight. JLH isn’t popular and the gravy train is ending.
P.S.: I had 30 SECONDS with JLH (as did EVERYBODY) when she did her book signing in Los Angeles.
The way the writer/OLV reader described his approach about getting an interview and photo-op with JLH—is not how things work with celebrities. Interview request should be made weeks before and through proper channels—not the bookstore owner. If he had interviewed so many great names and 2 sitting presidents then he should know that there are protocols in place in every celeb public appearance. I have been covering JLH for over 2 years now and she’s been very down-to-earth with us. I have not seen her get upset or acting like a diva—not once. JLH is usually very accomodating and there could be several reasons why things turned out the way the writer/OLV reader described it. Like I said each celeb have their own set of protocols. If you don’t abide by those protocols you’ll never get that interview and the photo-op you’d been hoping for.
I agree with you completely John. I used to be a publicist when I lived in LA, and this guy would never had gotten near one of my clients either. If he were really that experienced, then he would know you have to go through proper channels for an interview and/or photo op. You would never go to the store owner, they have nothing to do with it. The idea that him being photographed with the celebrity is the hook to his website, sounds absolutely ridiculous to me. He most likely has no proper press credentials, which is why he has to make an end run to get an photo. I looked at his site and it’s just pics of him with celebs. There’s nothing there that would really help any celebrity promote anything. As a former publicist, I don’t see anything there that would make it worthwhile for my client.
By all accounts, from people that actually have interviewed JLH, and/or know her, she is a lovely, personable and accommodating person. There’s a lot of crazy people out there these days, and many of them are armed with cameras. Publicists need to protect their clients as much as possible by controlling who gets near them. Sounds like sour grapes from somebody that’s trying to make a name for himself. Wrong way to do it.
I have to agree however it seems that the publicist went a little overboard and should have been nicer to the reporters. I would imagine that having a good personality is a prerequisite for becoming a publicist and when dealing with people. This one sounds like she’s socially inept.
Actually, a publicist’s job is to promote and protect their client, not to be friendly to the press. You have to be tough and a lot of the time, you have to know how to say no, especially these days. If only 5 of the 20 photogs got in, it was probably because they had proper credentials, while the others were just paparazzi. Anyone with a camera can get hired by a website these days. As a publicist, you have to control who has access to your client. Most of the time, the celebrity has no idea what is going on behind the scene, that’s why they hire a publicist, to handle all that for them and take all the BS.
Kudos to the publicists and industry folks who have taken time to reply here. The original poster needs to consider a few things, some of which have already been addressed here.
1. You have a blog that details your adventures meeting celebrities just to take a picture with them. Guess how that sounds to those of us in the industry? All we hear is BLOG (not a valid news source considering the content you “publish”) and STALKER. You may not think that rings true, but it does. At least to those of us who have to protect our clientele, and/or budget their itinerary wisely.
2. Again, you have a BLOG. And while movie news blogs and music blogs are valid news sources that have loyal and large audiences, yours likely does not. Get over yourself. Seriously. Ms JLH is trying to publicize her book, not her celebrity, and certainly doesn’t need to take a photo with you. She does NOT owe you anything. And her publicist and camp don’t either. The bookstore’s manager knew better. My guess is you probably were very persistent, and the manager humored you to get you off their case.
3. I’ve worked major events at bookstores in Manhattan, and one of them was Alyssa Milano. Sweet, sweet girl, but before she arrived, we were presented with three mug shots of people who STALK her and have active threats against her security. Did you stop to think for one second that maybe the wall of stone you came across from her camp was more about HER than YOU? Did you stop to think that perhaps one of the people in the world she is trying to avoid due to security concerns might have popped up at this event?
The “pomp and circumstance” you witnessed and perceived to be Queen of England type pageantry is not what you think it is. Again, consider that her security is at risk. You think you know, but you really have no idea. Seriously, you don’t. And besides, most celebrities are announced this way at events. It excites the audience who have been waiting for hours on end just to thrust a book at a bookstore employee who then slides the book to the client, who gives you a quick smile in 5 seconds before you are shooed back down the line and to the door.
4. Again, and I can’t press upon this point enough, but the protocols in the entertainment industry are airtight with regards to securing access to a celebrity client. We all know the ones who go guerilla style and avoid the links. You stick out like a sore thumb. Like Tom Cruise in “Eyes Wide Shut.” Don’t be that guy. And rethink exactly how important your “Look at me with celebrities!” photo blog really is in the whole scheme of things. Why exactly, again, do you think that you were essential to her and her camp? Imagine the other press outlets that are far more relevant who failed to snag a chat with JLH. But the fact that you flaunt meeting former/current presidents as an argument towards the necessity/importance of your blog says a lot, because in reality, none of us know how you snagged that, and it’s very possible it was at a campaign stop, and you got very lucky.
5. Back to my experience at the bookstore, it is not ununsual to not allow ALL the photogs and agencies in question to photograph a client. For one, this eats up time in an already tight schedule. Two, it’s distracting and exhausting on the client. But mainly, it eats up time. I’ve had to turn away large photo agencies before for no other reason than time constraints. Perhaps you should have tried to think about that as well, rather than making it about you.
I second everything you said Kate. This whole rant from Tom really just emphasizes that he is an amateur, with no knowledge of how things are done in this business. His own website says that he was just a joe schmoe with an inability to attract celebs until he met Obama. Maybe if he dressed a little more professionally, instead of looking like joe the plumber, he might get somewhere. He is literally wearing the same faded sports shirt in nearly every photo. Act and look like a professional, then you might get better results, but honestly, there’s no value in giving someone like this access to a client.
Thank you, Annie, and I’ll add this as well –
6. Interviews, when they are set, happen on an agreed upon time, and you are informed of this by a publicist who emails you the confirmation. You are also provided with their phone number. Much communicado happens when an interview is actually “cleared” with a celebrity. If you had actually officially been cleared to interview JLH, you would have received multiple email communications about it from her camp. You would have known the name of the contact person to approach because they would have been expecting you.
But the moment you take it upon yourself to APPROACH the celebrity without first an introduction by her publicist, and official handshake, you are deemed unprofessional and amateur, and you will be shown the door.
Jennifer Love Hewitt has had many stalkers in the past. The last one I think happened in Sept. 29, 2009 when Diana Napolis of San Diego, Calif. pleaded guilty to stalking JLH.
The same group of paparazzi have been covering JLH and other celebs who live in Toluca Lake, Calif. Believe me, as a pap, there’s no other group of people who are over protective of a celeb than the paps who regularly cover their everyday activities.
If Tom would have come to Toluca Lake looking for JLH—do you think we’ll just give him her address? He’d be lucky if we’ll let him stay around. Most likely we ask him to beat it—or else….
I think we are all missing the point of the story. It’s easier to meet and have your photo taken with a seated president than it is with Jennifer Love Hewitt! lol
For those of us (photographers) who see and shoot (as in take a picture) JLH—or any other celeb—everyday sometimes take it for granted how priveleged we are. However, none of us would attempt to get to know her—or any other celebrity—personally. Yes, she knows we’re there (celebs identify us by the make and model of the cars we drive) and we sometimes make small talk with her, but that’s as far as things would go. We always try to put a barrier between us and the celebs…that’s how it should be….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvJrqK8IAHE I don’t about Jennifer Love Hewitt being a diva?… she was signing autographs and allowing everybody at the Borders Store to take pics of her… maybe Tom need to lighten up a little bit and not exaggerate his story to put his name out there!
Exactly! His problem is that he’s not satisfied getting a picture OF JLH, he wants to be photographed WITH her. That’s his gimmick, so he can post the pic on his site and convince people he’s a celebrity magnet. What a joke!
None of the people commenting here (except for Tom) seemed to actually have been to a Jennifer Love Hewitt book signing, and most of you sound pretty arrogant as if you really enjoyed Tom’s cruel and unfair treatment by JLH and staff. I actually was at one of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s signings yesterday (the one at the B&N at The Grove in L.A. mentioned toward the end of this article). I’m posting my horrible experience below and no, I didn’t see this article until right now, way after my own signing experience).
This whole article is right on and I’m amazed at how similar the experience was (in two different states). Some friends and I were just at her book signing at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove in L.A. yesterday and it was terrible. Fans weren’t allowed to take pictures from even 10-15 feet away!
There were like 4 huge (very aggressive) security guards around her at all times staring everyone down; fans couldn’t even say a word to her while they were getting their books signed (standing at least 3 feet away) and the Barnes and Noble security staff were continually yelling at and intimidating people in line ( even people very very far back in the line), including young teenage girls who seemed really scared. It was so awful!
You would think that royalty or a head of state was in that Barnes and Noble. It was bizarre. I’ve lost all respect for Jennifer Love Hewitt and that B&N. I’ve been to several celeb book signing events like this before with friends and have never seen anything like that….
It’s not an arrogant POV we speak from Janie.. we’re speaking from the other side of the situation so that assumptions aren’t made about the celebrity. I know “celebrity” feels like a transparent notion these days with magazines, reality shows and gossip websites that detail what appears to be “everything,” most people still don’t understand how things actually go in the entertainment/movie/music business unless they are actually part of it.
For one, when there is a build-up of security, it’s for a reason, not to make her seem like a head of state, not to stroke her ego, and not because she’s a diva. If she necessitated big goons around her (and the $$$ and man power resources that calls for) and bookstore employees to aggressively deal with the situation, maybe think about why that is. The “why” is why some of us have said what we’ve said here, because some of us are on the inside looking out.
If you’re going to lose respect for JLH because of this, you’re not seeing the whole perspective. As I said earlier, I’ve handled many big-name book signings in Manhattan, and rules are to be in place for a reason, and 9 times out of 10, it’s for the star’s security, not because they are a jerk, and not because they hate their fans. If JLH has a book out, and still wants to be perceived as a sweetheart to get good press and have big studios interested in her again, etc., etc., her being forced to be surrounded by goons and have have measures in place is likely because she is trying to keep some scarier elements away, and not her total fanbase. Again, you would not believe what we were told for Alyssa Milano. And while she was very sweet, she was very nervous for much of the signing because of the elements/stalkers her very public event was attracting.
I dont know how it was at the other book signings but i was at the one last night at the Grove and it was total bs, what kind of Author agrees to go on a book tour and hold a book signing and Q&A that is scheduled to last 2 hours, then decides to bolt after only 20 mins after the scheduled start time, especially with quite a few people still standing in line to see her, who spent their hard earned money on her book.I was furious after that bs last night, I went out of my way to make sure i was there well before the 7:00pm start time. I was in L.A. Traffic for 90 mins making my way to the grove, then stood in line for about 15 mins to buy the stupid book, and i still managed to be where i was suppose to be well before 7:00pm. by the time i got to the front of the line (with only 3 people in front of me)less than 20 mins after the 7pm start time she closes the last book she signed for a person gets up her security imediately follow her and she walks away, doesnt say or acknowledge any of the fans still waiting. None of the people immeadiately before that said anything meanspirited or inapporpriate to her, you could tell she just decided thats it iam finished. at that point the goon squad says, ladies and gentlemen please leave the area the event is done. when i voiced my displeasure with one of her goon squad, the response was tough Sh*T, get out of here. I could not believe it. I went down to the return counter spent 30 mins in line returning my book, and voiceing my displeasure to the store manager.
(who was actually very apologetic about the signing being abrubtly ended, and confirmed that it was indeed scheduled for 2 hours, he actually seemed rather annoyed at her and her security when talking about it) after i got my refund i decided to browse through the history section to see if i could find a book, so that the day wasnt a total wash, and as i am kneeling down looking through the World history section on the lowest shelf, good squad comes barreling through ordering me to get out the way, I didnt take to kindly to being yelled at by some police academy reject on a power trip, when iam just minding my own bussiness.especially when i thought little miss princess had left long ago. when i saw it was her i spoke up and said”Thanks for signing my book i bought with my hard earned money” of course she didnt say anything but i did get the nastiest glare ive ever recieved.
the goon squad yelled at other people as they paraded her away as well, people whom didnt even give a care who she was.
A little respect goes a long way, treat people with respect and talk to them like a human being and guess what 9 times out of 10 people will be respectful and understanding.
I totally get that she prob gets a lot of creepy people stalking her, but everyone there last night that was in line right before she bolted was respectful and courtious towards her, and it wasnt even her security that initated her getting up and walking away, she just decided on her own to stop and get up and leave, no one leaned over to her to whisper anything that would indicate that she needed to leave right away. She just chose to be a spoiled unappreciative brat. She has lost a fan in me and ghost whisperer has lost a coveted Neilsen household.
on a positive note though i did find a book on the romanov family in the history section that i had been looking for for the past few months though, so atleast i didnt totally waste my time, and i am sure its going to be a far better read than her stupid fluff book anyways,
I attended the book signing at the Grove last week and was also very disappointed. After buying the book and receiving a wrist band, I waited in line. A Barnes & Noble employee approached me and asked me to turn off my camera as no photos are to be taken while I receive my signature. Pretty upset, I approached JLH and said Hi. Not only did she not reply she didn’t even look up at me, until one of her friends made a remark. Behind me in line, my friend tried the same approach but was also turned down. I’ve been to a few signings and have NEVER been treated so rudely!
a book signing is not the same as a dinner with her majesty, number 1
number 2.security needs to be in place, yes, i agree, however…..cut some slack, MOST people, just want to say hi, say a few words have her sign the book and move on.
you can acknowledge your fans even with a smile, and leaving early, doesnt look good,unless it really is an emergency.i understand whackjobs morons and weirdos have to will always appear ANYWHERE to stalk a celebrity, irregardless if the celeb is nice or not, they dont deserve it.
3.the people buying your book are the ones paying your mortgage and your cars.
4 if there isnt enough time for a fan or to do a book signing, dont do it at all, some people thats ALL they have to look forward too.
5.i know that ljh went through a break up with jamie kennedy, but, i dont think she has anything to be unhappy about.
my .02
Personally, I wouldn’t buy her book if someone gave me the money for it and then paid me to actually make the purchase. I was never a fan of JLH, but when I happened across her Halloween photos from a couple of years back, I was just disgusted. Really Jennifer? A fat costume? Nothing like using your status as a celebrity to publicly support the cruelty to and the belittling, mocking, and humiliation of the overweight population. And what would your overweight fans think of this kind of insensitive behavior from someone the idolize? Nothing says role model like dressing up like a fat person for some Halloween fun! “Hey, it’s ok to make fun of heavy people! It’s not mean and hurtful to potential truckloads of good and kindhearted people! It’s cool!” Were the handicapped costumes sold out? Personally, the woman disgusts me and the fact that she is apparently so ignorant that she couldn’t see this was a bad and cruel thing to do, and at the least a GREAT way to alienate a good portion of her fanbase just baffles my mind. The girl needs better PR people, or a personal assistant with a brain. She makes me ill. Hence my Facebook page for Curvy Girls Who Hate her.
I was at the signing. Got to say hello,but only had 30 seconds with her. JLH publicist has no clue as to how to run her career. You people are quite right….There is a difference between security and paranoia. More security than THE PRESEIDENT? Oh,my….
Well I mean she was stalked at one point and the lady wanted to kill her so I mean, I get where she’s coming from.
I can sympathize with this. Publicists often have a paranoid attitude; and so people think the artist is a “diva” also.
JLH’s people unfortunately stack the deck against people who don’t know them. I was allowed only 30 SECONDS to talk to JLH in Los Angeles.
Things like this are why JLH isn’t a star anymore. She hasn’t had any projects in 2 years. And there’s a big hoax about her personal life….to the benefit of that publicist of course.
It’s public knowledge that the only “stalker” (really,a religious fanatic) has been dispensed with. The photographer was right: JLH had more security than the President of the United States!! ENOUGH OF THAT,ALREADY. It’s a form of bullying!
JLH ,btw,isn’t Alyssa Milano.