Ryan Phillippe spin doctor canned within hours of being hired

[buttmunch]

November 10, 2006 -- MICHAEL Sitrick, the L.A. public relations poobah, was hired and fired by Ryan Phillippe in the space of a few hours after his firm made up quotes and provided them to In Touch magazine for its cover story.

"We're angry," said one editor at the glossy. "We trusted the publicists."

Sitrick is a spin doctor whose clients have included Halle Berry (a hit-and-run problem), artist Peter Max (tax evasion), R. Kelly (accused of statutory rape), lawyer Terry Christensen (a wiretapping charge) and supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle.

Phillippe has long been represented by Baker Winokur & Ryder, the public relations giant that also reps his wife, Reese Witherspoon. Firm partner Nanci Ryder actually introduced the couple, who married seven years ago and had two children.

When the couple announced their split last week, BWR hired Sitrick to handle Phillippe's p.r., perhaps to avoid a conflict of interest. But a few hours later, Sitrick had been fired.

"We hired him. We out-sourced," explained a BWR spokeswoman, giving the official story. "We thought we might need the extra help, but we didn't. It turned out, smaller is better."

Unofficially, an insider said the flacks at Sitrick "gave a fake story to In Touch. They did a not-kosher thing, and that's uncool. They [bleep]ing lied."

In Touch quotes Phillippe as saying in an "exclusive interview," "I'm not jealous of her, that's so far from the truth. She's someone who's very talented and works hard. I've done well, too - that was never an issue."

Phillippe was also quoted, "This is the hardest time of my life - I miss my family."

The problem wasn't so much the quotes, which sound like what Phillippe would say - it was that BWR had already put Phillippe on the phone with People magazine for their "exclusive interview."

Sitrick responded to Page Six by e-mail: "The project was not as big as they expected . . . We were not fired because of any fake quote given to In Touch magazine. We don't even know what you are talking about with respect to that."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11102006...d_pagesix_.htm

What? Gossip rags make shit up? I, for one, am shocked.

[LizaMarie]

Gossip rags will have allegiances to certain publicists too. the truth of what ACTUALLY goes on and how celebrities are either prtected or vilified is disgusting.