| Home > celebs > Unofficial Celebrity Report: 700 Club |
| Unofficial Celebrity Report: 700 Club | | Date Created: Aug 24, 2005, 02:51 PM |
It's been an odd few weeks on the blog-side of things. First, the "3 Reasons Fans Hate Dale Jr." cover story, then the retelling of the odd Larry King appearance and finally the surreal, nonsensical flame wars last weekend over Junior's "white car" comment.
Being a celebrity brings a lot of fun, exciting opportunities for Dale Jr., but it also has a seamy underbelly that occasionally rears its ugly likeness above the murky surface.
You've likely seen some shocking-but-typical comments several days ago from one of our country's sleazy televangelists, Pat Robertson. (If you've been under a rock, here's an overview.) We've had our own experience with Robertson's Christian Broadcast Network and its hate-spewing 700 Club, and I think now is a perfect time to provide a personal example of his extreme hypocrisy and evil-in-the-name-of-Jesus campaign.
|
 (An aside: despite calling for the assassination of foreign leaders and the use of nuclear arms against the U.S. State Dept., Robertson sells a mean powdered diet shake. And he developed the recipe with the help of Jesus! Pat, I'll take two canisters, and Hallelujah-size it.)
|
Following the death of Dale Jr's father at the 2001 Daytona 500, all interview requests were denied for weeks after the accident. Dale Jr. was simply not prepared nor willing to speak about the accident until several months later, and at that time, we deliberately and cautiously booked segments with Fox Sports (interview by Darrell Waltrip) and the Today Show (with Matt Lauer).
Prior to that time, we received a request at the Atlanta race, three weeks following Dale's death, to answer two questions for Robertson's 700 Club, who claimed to be doing a major feature about the role of Pastor Dale Beaver of the Motor Racing Outreach. Beaver had become a close friend to the family, and especially Dale Jr. in the year prior to Big E's death. He was extremely helpful following the accident, and delivered a eulogy at a memorial service held a few days after the fatal crash.
Dale Jr. agreed to answer two questions as a show of thanks, unity and support for his good friend. The interviewer was not to ask specifically about the crash or topics other than Beaver's role as a comforting influence. |
 We were met at Junior's motorcoach by a pompadoured, greasy-haired reporter named Scott Ross, who insisted on a prayer prior to the interview. (Trust me, that's always a sign of trouble ahead,)
He opened with a question about Beaver's role, then veered directly toward Junior's religious beliefs following his father's death. This remains the worst single moment of my publicity career: I should have stopped the interview immediately. I did not. It is a moment of inaction I will always regret.
After approximately five minutes of questions, I had finally grown enough of a spine to stop the proceedings. Following another inane prayer, the segment producer opened a large backpack filled not with videotapes or camera gear, but a wide assortment of Dale Jr. diecasts, hats and merchandise for Junior to autograph.
It was an awkward, awful moment so soon after his father's death, but Junior handled it pretty well. I was upset mightily, but we were still pleased to see Dale Beaver receive recognition for the tough, sensitive job he had been doing.
Within days, we were slapped with banner headlines on a news release from CBN: "700 Club EXCLUSIVE! Dale Earnhardt Jr. Interview Reveals How the Death of His Father Has Changed Him Completely." The news release went on to trumpet how Junior had chosen to speak only to the 700 Club and how his life had been altered by Jesus. The story itself was nauseating, particularly because it included nothing about Dale Beaver. The self-righteous, holier-than-thou on-set chatter between Ross and the co-hosts was enough to make me want to throw a heavy object through the TV screen, especially following references to the Holy Trinity, which matched the number 3 on Earnhardt's race car.
It remains the most gut-wrenching mistake of my career, and the lessons learned will never be repeated. (So far, knock on wood.)
This week, I went through some of my old notes and files on the segment, and found some interesting items. About the sleazy interviewer, Scott Ross, his pompadour remains to this day and one of his many self-glorifying bio pages at the 700 Club website leads with this quote: "I can't afford cable TV, so I've never seen Scott in action, but I'm told he's probably the most effective TV talk show host on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Among those who told me so was Scott himself."
As for Robertson, I think his words and actions pretty much speak for themselves.
The aftermath/backlash: Another element of the whole incident was the nastiness of what was then a small assortment of anonymous web message boards. We sent out a brief news release countering the claims of the 700 Club "exclusive," and briefly presenting our side of the sham. This generated an array of interesting comments on the boards, which included the following claims:
"Junior's PR Flak should be fired. They're just trying to get more publicity for the show."
"Satan is present on any racing website that complains about someone as great as Pat Robertson."
"Junior's spokesperson is obviously a liar, atheist and heathen..."
And perhaps the most bizarre: "this entire episode is part of a larger plot by Budweiser against Evangelical Christians."
So, as upsetting as some of the psychotic postings were this past weekened, it'll be damn near impossible to top our run-in with the 700 Club.
Another sign of the apocalypse: Earnhardt Wax Statue Unveiled. Creepy. Very Creepy.
|
|
|
|
All contents of this blog are the sole responsibility and views of the author.
They do not in any way represent the views, beliefs or corporate values of any clients of fingerprint inc.
This includes but is not limited to Anheuser-Busch or any other corporate or personal entities mentioned within.
| |
