Butter Never Spoils

Paula Deen Hires Michael Vick’s Former Crisis Manager

The fixer.
The fixer. Photo: Courtesy of Judy Smith

The real-life inspiration for Shonda Rhimes’s show Scandal is now allegedly working behind the scenes to help salvage Paula Deen Enterprises, AdAge reports. Judy Smith’s client list reads like a “Best Of” list of notable and recent PR nightmares: Michael Vick, Monica Lewinsky, and Jill Kelley (author and former mistress of General David Petraeus) are all arguably satisfied customers. Of course, in keeping consistent with the nature of confidentiality agreements and what must be astronomically high retainer fees, no one has actually been able to confirm that Smith & Company is in fact working on Deen’s comeback strategy: AdAge gets no comment from the firm, while Us Weekly hears it from an unnamed, third-party “source.” Clearly, something’s working. [AdAge, Earlier]

Paula Deen Hires Michael Vick’s Former Crisis Manager