Dan Abrams
Prison gives you street cred or celebrity chic
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
No one should be surprised that Martha Stewart seems to be emerging from prison as a more important figure, and with even more potential.
Martha Stewart's company stock has shot up nearly 250 percent since she's been in the clink. She has contracts for not one, but two new reality shows with NBC.
These days, where reality TV seems to be our reality, spending some time in a criminal courtroom or behind bars often becomes a sort of badge of honor rather than a stain. It's become something to add to the resume rather than to hide. It proves true the maxim that any publicity is good publicity.
Look at P. Diddy or Puffy as he was known at the time. After his trial on weapons charges after a shooting at a New York club, he was just bigger and more influential than before the trial started. He was found not guilty.
Public relations princess Lizzie Grubman served time for running into some club goers with her Mercedes SUV. The old timers asked, "Oh, is she done? " P.R. insiders knew it was just the beginning. Next week she has a new reality show "Power Girls" to the budding empire.
And of course in the rap music world, it seems spending time in the pen is a prerequisite. P. Diddy's co-defendant, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, fired a weapon that night and is serving time, but he's still one of the most sought after rap artists around.
And former gang member Calvin Broadus went to prison on drug charges in 1990, got out, recorded the album "Doggy Style" under the name Snoop Dogg. It went platinum. The rest is music history.
Those are just a few of the many examples of beating the rap, so to speak. Robert Downey Jr. survived after dropping out of drug rehab four times and going to prison. His movie career continues to thrive, and he just released his first album.
It seems you have to do really something extra nasty, but not just criminal, something sort of gross to be considered a real outcast — like former New York Judge Sol Wachtler, who was once mentioned as a possible candidate for New York governor. He hasn't been seen much after apparently sending a sexually explicit note with a condom enclosed to the 14-year-old daughter of a woman with whom he had an affair. He hasn't recovered.
It's the new reality: Martha turns lemons into lemonade and walks out of Camp Cupcake with a lot more cake in her cup than when she walked in.
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JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.
