Out of curiosity, Phil also grabbed the magazine and glanced at it a few times, quickly coming to his own conclusion.
"You're right, this really isn't a big deal~ When MJ's scandals broke out back then, media all over the world were smearing him."
"Compared to that kind of offensive, a smear report in an entertainment magazine is nothing at all."
Bonnie shook her head like a rattle drum. "It's not just that..."
"Leon, just open any social networking site now, type in your name... and you'll understand everything..."
After hearing this, Leon indeed felt a bit more apprehensive.
Opening Twitter and typing in the keyword "Leon Smith."
Thousands of abusive comments and smears shocked him into speechlessness.
These rumor-mongering accounts basically all had blank avatars and randomly spelled nicknames.
Undoubtedly, these people were all paid trolls.
The revelations on social networks were even more extreme and unbelievable than those in entertainment magazines.
Someone grafted Jay-Z's experiences onto him, claiming he made money selling flour (drugs) to record his first album.
Someone revealed that Leon was gay, accompanied by the photo of that Black gay guy taking off his pants for him to sign at the first autograph session of Take Me to Church...
Other more outrageous ones were too numerous to mention.
An anonymous lady claiming to be his fan revealed that she and Leon had three children;
Someone revealed that their mother was a fan of Leon's and they had a sexual relationship...
Although Leon scrolled the mouse wheel desperately, he never seemed to reach the bottom of the page.
Phil laughed out loud from the side: "It seems you are even more hateful than Judas who betrayed Jesus and Nero who burned Rome..."
"As long as the public aren't fools, I don't think anyone will believe this." Leon crossed his hands under his chin, his face full of helplessness.
Whether it was the four pages of crimes in Entertainment Weekly or the tens of thousands of troll comments on social media...
Judging from the current public opinion offensive, whoever wanted to smear him must have spent a fortune.
Leon scratched his head. "Shxt! Which damn bastard is it?!"
"Hmph." Phil sneered. "Isn't it because you bastard did too many bad things... I also really want to expose how you PUA'd a simple and honest middle-aged manager."
A manager's interests are tied to the artist, so these words could only be just talk.
After calming down, Phil analyzed: "I don't think it's Chris... For a simple-minded ngga, there is no more efficient means of revenge than violence."
"You offended Kanye West at Diddy's party a few days ago. That guy's nerves aren't quite right; sometimes he's as difficult to deal with as a bitch."
This analysis sounded somewhat reasonable, but there didn't seem to be much difference.
Chris and Kanye were both P. Diddy's little brothers. It didn't matter which of them did this anymore.
Phil came to Leon's ear and whispered, "Did you really bang that bitch Kardashian? Stay away from that woman... She's an out-and-out vampire who will suck a man dry to the last drop of essence."
Leon rolled his eyes at him.
Did this have anything to do with whether he banged Kardashian or not?
Ever since he got together with the West Coast, he had already formed a grudge with the Diddy faction.
Phil patted Leon's shoulder. "Don't worry, man. I've been in this business for over 20 years. I've seen too much of this kind of thing."
"Back when Sony wanted to acquire Epic Records, they almost bought off all the entertainment media."
"The fact that Avril Lavigne had mental health issues became known to everyone almost overnight."
"Leave this matter to me. I'll contact my friends in the media industry as quickly as possible and have them publish perfect whitewashing articles for you..."
Phil temporarily guest-starred as a "PR Manager," walking around the room while pontificating.
But Leon seemed not to have listened to a word.
After watching the old geezer's five-minute talk show performance, he knocked on the table and said, "Let's leave this matter as it is. Not dealing with it is the best result."
"What stupid things are you saying?! Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy. Haven't you noticed? After something like this happened, not a single executive from the Roc Nation Kingdom called me."
Hearing this, Phil showed a shocked expression, but still couldn't digest it for a while.
Leon continued, "This kind of negative news is undoubtedly a disaster for those idol singers... but maybe it's a good thing for my persona?"
Phil pondered carefully for a while before finally understanding completely.
This guy wanted to play with "black traffic" (negative publicity)!
In the "Amusing Ourselves to Death" America, audiences usually didn't care about the moral impact caused by scandals; they only cared about whether the revelations were exciting enough, dramatic enough!
For singers like Britney Spears who relied on an idol persona, some negative news in recent years had tortured her and caused her momentum to plummet.
But Kesha, who was also constantly surrounded by drama, instead further consolidated her "bad girl" persona through negative news and harvested more fans.
Her PR company would even pay money to write negative news about her.
Having figured everything out, Phil gritted his teeth and said, "You are a fcking genius."
Phil had to admit defeat. The traffic password of the entertainment industry had long been figured out by this fledging young man in front of him.
The Roc Nation Kingdom had always been committed to creating a negative image of the "Satan of the music industry" for Leon. Such a rebellious image had a fatal attraction for American audiences with a negative moral burden.
The Beatles' lead singer John Lennon did drugs with his wife... and announced his relationship with Yoko Ono while still married;
Bob Dylan, the immortal poet of the music world, was exposed to having had relationships with over 4,000 women;
Almost all members of the Hall of Fame rock band Guns N' Roses did drugs. The only lead singer, Axl Rose, who didn't do drugs, was a sex addict.
The biggest scandal he caused was having sex with a 19-year-old female fan in the recording studio, and that girl was the drummer's girlfriend...
Rose later even put the girl's moans when they were connecting into the track Rocket Queen as background sound.
However, it was these three despicable "scumbags" who profoundly influenced the pattern of the world music scene at that time.
As long as they can win the fans' favor, the American people never care about character.
"Let them smear... it's best if it can continue forever."
"If nothing unexpected happens, my first album will be released before Christmas."
This clever use of "black traffic" to promote his new album made even the old scumbag Phil marvel.
At the same time, Leon also seemed to have figured out the direction he wanted to invest in.
Media!
If a public figure has no place to promote himself, it is as ridiculous as a king without territory.
Leon tentatively asked, "What do you think about investing in some media organizations?"
"Like radio stations, magazines, and the like."
"Obviously, attacks against Apocalypse Music and its singers will increase in the future."
"We must have our own position."
"If we don't occupy the position of public opinion ourselves, it will be like today... completely occupied by opponents."