In the News
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If you spend any time on the web, you might have come across a little media event that occurred in 1998. There are many questions surrounding this event, primarily because the press was never interested in my side of the story. They wanted sensationalism, and they drummed it up. Here's a little interview I did about it all.
Interviewer: Michelle, tell us about the Internet fiasco.
Michelle: I was approached, through my manager, about an Internet project involving two high school graduates who were in love and were deciding whether or not to have sex before they committed to marriage. Ultimately they would decide that they wanted to wait, but the project would chronicle their discussions with their parents, minister, and efforts to decide on a method of responsible, safe sex. I really thought it was a great idea because it would encourage communication and honest discussions about the various methods to choose from if a couple decides to have sex.
Interviewer: Sounds relevant for this day and age. What happened?
Michelle: What started out as a well-intended effort got blown out of proportion before it ever got started. I did a photo shoot with the male actor playing Mike - innocent boyfriend girlfriend stuff - like holding hands, sunning by the pool, etc. And, for us, that was the end of the project. We did only one photo shoot. There was never any nudity, we never signed a contract, never “negotiated” any deals (as some stories on the Internet suggested), never arranged for any publicity releases, and were never paid any money. As far as I know, there was never a finished script - just an outline of the intent.
Interviewer: Where did all the publicity come from?
Michelle: The producers of this project created a Web page to advertise it. The other actor and I had no involvement in any of the business side of the project. I did not even realize there was a problem until I saw it on the news. Understand, that I didn't have a computer nor Internet access at the time, so I had no idea what was going on. Looking back, I was way too trusting and I was certainly naive, and that is something I take full responsibility for. So there was all this intrigue going on about the Web page - and I really didn't understand what was going on.
Interviewer: Then what happened?
Michelle: I was shocked when everything blew up. I wasn't prepared to be depicted as a sleazy person by the media - I still believed the project was intended for good. And I certainly wasn't aware that I might be made to “seem” responsible for the project. You only have to know what a computer klutz I am to know that could never be true! That's when I learned first hand that the media can choose to twist anything you say just to get an exciting story.
Interviewer: I understand that you had a lot of publicity opportunities from this but you turned them all down. Why? I thought that all publicity, good or bad, is considered an opportunity by actors.
Michelle: I learned really fast that my side of the story was not going to be interesting enough to make news. I never trusted that the truth would be told. Unfortunately, there are not many journalists who would find it exciting that the project was trying to tell young couples to wait, to be responsible, and if they choose to have sex, have safe sex.
Interviewer: What would you do differently if you were offered the same opportunity today?
Michelle: I'd be a lot more aware of who was involved. I wouldn't be so trusting and I'd want to be an integral part of the project - know the details - from start to finish. I certainly learned that not everything in the media is truth. We all grow up. Some of the best lessons are the hardest ones.
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