Richard Berry actor in 2005 -
VSD / SIPA
Richard Berry has taken the lead by posting a story to respond to the charges of incest he is the subject of.
At first, this strategy seemed to give the side of the story the edge in the media footage.
But the actor's defense strategy has turned out to be counterproductive.
Was Coline Berry-Rojtman's word "confiscated"?
One thing is certain, Richard Berry did not wait for the case to appear in the press to be expressed.
As early as Tuesday evening, he published a story on his Instagram account anticipating by a few hours the charges of incest to which he is the subject.
At 22:23, last Tuesday, franceinfo released the information.
A preliminary investigation was opened on January 25 after a complaint filed the same day by her eldest daughter Coline Berry-Rojtman.
The following evening, the investigation of the
World
, which has managed to collect many testimonies from relatives of Richard Berry's entourage and his daughter, is published.
If the article gives the floor to Coline Berry-Rojtman, who details his version of the facts, the media sequence seems at first to give the advantage to the actor.
Some celebrity press sites are not afraid to approach the matter lightly, using sometimes casual expressions.
"Richard Berry accused of incest: his daughter Coline persists and signs", we can read in particular on the site of Gala.
Or: "His niece Marilou Berry drives the point home", headlines the same media.
"The roles are distributed at the start"
As if, by speaking the first, Richard Berry had succeeded in imposing his version of the facts on that of his daughter who, let us remember, denounces in her complaint "facts of rape and sexual assault on a minor of 15 years by ascendancy and corruption of minor ”.
“He chose to take the lead in the media by speaking before the current investigation appears, observes Marine Périn, spokesperson for Take the One.
This is a feature which necessarily modifies the media treatment of the case, if only in its chronology, ”she observes.
For her part, Coline Berry-Rojtman's lawyer, Karine Shebabo, regrets that "as in sexual assaults on a minor, it is once again the alleged perpetrator who sets his pace".
In the early hours of the media coverage of the case, the Insta story seems to have borne fruit.
If, for certain communication advisers, like Anne Hommel, there is no rule, for Florian Silnicki, founder of the agency La FrenchCom, in this kind of business, it is better to speak first.
"You are more likely to impose in the public debate your arguments and your messages vis-à-vis those of the competition which will be valued in the journalistic investigation," explains the expert in crisis communication who supports many business leaders. and heads of state in similar situations.
In crisis communication, roles are distributed at the start.
If you are behind the dissemination of information, you are heard.
If you react, the posture is not the same, you are in a more defensive posture ”.
The choice of social network is not trivial either.
By posting his message on Instagram, Richard Berry spoke directly to his community on the channel where he has the most audience (more than 86,000 subscribers).
He anticipated the crisis by playing transparency with his fans who, flattered by this confession, will be inclined to support him.
The actor was flawless… on form.
But he multiplied the errors on the merits.
Richard Berry presents himself as a victim
In his message, Richard Berry writes about his daughter: “Her story has evolved over time.
It has been denied, renewed and enriched by it at the option of the interlocutors, or the news.
For years, I tried to talk to her, to stop her lies, to figure out what she needed, without success.
I opened up to psychiatrists, to my family, to my friends.
After the publication of Camille Kouchner's testimony, my daughter reworked her story ”, he explained in a process of discrediting the victim's words.
"It is often the one who denounces who is treated as crazy or unbalanced in the first place," notes Karine Shebabo.
The family unit following sexual offenses against a minor within it is often reconstituted more easily around the perpetrator rather than the victim.
What is often hard to accept is that the one who is supposed to protect us is in fact the one who attacks us.
"
For Florian Silnicki, attacking the victim is inappropriate.
"It is the best way to appear as guilty," he notes.
Instead of keeping the advantage, Richard Berry turns his communication strategy against himself.
"We have here a form of media violence in action", concludes the lawyer.
Appearing aggressive weakens his speech all the more because in the same article in
Le Monde
, the actor admitted having violated his ex-companions, Catherine Hiegel and Jeane Manson.
Adopting an empathetic posture would certainly have been more effective.
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