Super-Injunctions - What a Waste of Time

The hot topic for this week is the stream of super-injunctions taken out by athletes and celebrities to protect their reputation. The identities of these people is a court bound secret, but by the power of the Internet, the whole world seems to know! So in this post, I want to discuss the point of super-injunctions as a PR defence and whether the whole process could just be a complete waste of time.

The reason given for taking out a super-injunction seems to be to protect their family, but surely its not for that reason. It's because the celebrity doesn't want to damage his reputation and his sponsorship deals - it's all about the money. If the celebrity cared about his (or her, let's not be biased) family, he wouldn't have had an affair in the first place! And is it really worth it? With the Internet around, the truth will out eventually.

Could the better way to handle an affair be to be honest about it? Someone in PR, recommending honesty?! Never! But I am going to go out on a limb here and say yes. The celebrity should own up for his/her mistakes and move forward. A family affair is a private issue but by being in the public eye, rumours about the celebrities actions could actually become more damaging than if they are straight up about it. The whole situation would have to be carefully managed, of course. The juicy details could be highly damaging and a kiss-and-tell from the mistress wouldn't help anything but in the long run, honesty must be the way forward? 

Perhaps this is me taking the moral high ground and thinking about what I would want to happen if it was me. The safety net of a super-injunction might turn into a paranoia trap that haunts me for the rest of my life. So, as the catholics would say (although I am definitely not religious!), absolve yourself of your sins and you will be forgiven. The public have a soft spot for people who come back from scandal and prove themselves. Unless you're Ashley Cole of course.

What do you think? Is honesty the best way forward?