This week's headlines

There has been quite a few PR nightmares in the news this week that peaked my attention. Some of the stories are recognizable by even the most out of touch individual, others you may not have heard of unless you are a news junkie, just like me.

First and foremost, we'll address the obvious - Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, has made a statement on Tuesday that he did, in fact, smoke rock while he was in office. It doesn't stop there, numerous videos have been released since, almost strategically after his last interview at City Hall. Like the one where he was shown belligerently threatening to kill someone.

The story was trending all over the world, including on social media where individuals posted memes, comments, and humorous banter. To read a list of my favorite memes and tweets, read my last blog.

Lulu's Pants

Lululemon made the news again, this time because of an ignorant comment the founder made during an interview, stating that the issue with the pants is that they aren't meant for every body. Notice the look his wife, formerly Lululemon's chief designer, gave him during the comment.

Blaming consumers for faulty products is NOT good practice, and should be avoided at all costs. You can see the story here.

Racial tweet from HOME

Home Depot has also made my list of controversies this week. The popular home supply store sent a tweet that was extremely offensive and racist, after which they quickly removed from their feed and issued an apology. It does appear however, that their agency or social media manager was quick with the response by copying and pasting the same tweet to deal with the backlash.

@BeYou_ImAshby Deeply sorry for the dumb Tweet. We deleted it.
— The Home Depot (@HomeDepot) November 7, 2013

Best social media management practice, if you don't know... don't tweet it. You can read the Home Depot story here.

Ladies are centre stage

Last, but certainly not least... A more local story, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau was receiving controversial backlash regarding his recent event in Toronto, Cocktails & Candid Conversation with Justin, hashtagged #AskJustin.

The invitation itself was created to appeal to the female demographic, it of course was ridiculed as well. The comments ranged from mocking the hashtag and more serious comments such as suggesting that the event was patronizing to women.

Kathryn Marshall, a lawyer, columnist, and political commentator, was candid on Twitter. You can read her story, and related stories, on Huffington Post Politics.

Women of the #LPC caucus. Please, for all women, don't put up with this #askjustin
— Kathryn Marshall (@KVMarshall) November 7, 2013

#askjustin I have a law degree and women's studies and feminist research degree, can I still come to your cocktail party?
— Kathryn Marshall (@KVMarshall) November 7, 2013

It appears as though the issue is not the poster or the event itself, but the context in which she took it. The staff took into consideration that women happen to like Justin Trudeau, his good looks and his charm, a private event with the leader and women is not completely from left field, it was planned that way. I don't believe that it was meant to patronize women, in any way. His intention was to reach out to a demographic that may not necessarily always have a say in issues that matter to them.

My opinion can be seen on my Facebook page.

I hope you enjoyed the top PR stories of the week. Stay tuned for more. Have a comment? Email me.