Is it handled?
There are reports Angelina Jolie’s team is consulting with famous crisis management expert Judy Smith as the actress wades through her divorce drama with Brad Pitt.
But don’t expect confirmation of that from Smith.
She’s the woman who is the inspiration for the Olivia Pope character on the hit ABC series “Scandal.” And Smith is known for being beyond discreet when it comes to her clients.
Smith is also extremely private about her own personal life, but here is some of what we do know about her:
She’sthe “ultimate fixer”
Her firm, Smith & Company, is viewed as tops in the field of crisis management. According to its site, “Smith & Company” is “a premier, full-service crisis management and communications firm serving corporate, individual, non-profit and government clients throughout the United States and around the world.”
You too can benefit from her experience
You don’t have to be a wealthy celeb to learn from Smith.
She’s written a book titled “Good Self, Bad Self: How to Bounce Back from a Personal Crisis,” which “will teach you how to face and overcome potential problems before they send your life spinning out of control.”
Smith’s client list
Her Rolodex reads like a who’s who among the famous.
Smith has worked with everyone from Monica Lewinsky (in the wake of the the Bill Clinton affair scandal) to Sony Pictures (after they were hit by a cyberattack).
Shonda Rhimes is a huge fan
According to Chicago’s ABC 7, the TV titan scheduled a 15 minute meeting with Smith years ago to ask some questions.
Two hours later, Rhimes told her “I must do a show about your life.”
As a result, the world now has Olivia Pope who shares Smith’s smarts, doggedness for clients and love of white overcoats. Smith has served as a co-executive producer and consultant for the series.
Smith did not sleep with the president
While Smith did work as a special assistant for then president George H.W. Bush, she likes to make it clear that, unlike Olivia Pope, she did not fool around with her boss.
It’s a question she has been asked frequently given that on the show, Pope is the mistress of the president.
In 2014, Smith reportedly told an audience at the the Nantucket Project that she called Bush to give him the heads up that the series would include Pope’s affair. She said he joked about keeping the rumor going.
“I’m going to confirm the affair,” Smith said Bush told her. “I have young people working in my office now. They said I need to stay relevant, it’s good for my reputation.”
