Tiger Woods Rehab Photo 'A PR Nightmare'

By Rob Shuter Posted Jan 20th 2010 09:41AM

A new paparazzi image of Tiger has surfaced (see it on RadarOnline), potentially ruining his handler's plan to release a carefully staged photograph of Tiger with his wife and children looking happy together."At the moment it's all about regaining control of the golfer's image," an insider tells me. "The plan was to let an appropriate time pass and then issue one photograph wide to everyone in the media showing the family back together."

"This was NOT the first picture of Tiger his handlers wanted the world to see. This is another PR nightmare for him," my source says.

In the paparazzi photo, Tiger is seen looking at the camera, holding a cup and covering his head with a hooded sweatshirt. It's the first photo of the golf great since his Thanksgiving day car wreck that led to his infidelity scandal. He's now reportedly in a Mississippi sex addiction clinic, according to Radar. Details From Inside the Clinic on Hollywood Life >>>

Positioning a photo for publicity reasons is nothing new in the celebrity world, or Tiger's world. After the birth of his first child, Tiger released a photograph of the boy and proud parents to the entire world's media for free rather than selling his baby pictures to the highest bidder. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words -- or in Tiger's case, many millions!

But just how much could this new Tiger photo have been worth? David Leigh of Splash News, which sells photographs to tabloid and mainstream media companies, said in December: "An exclusive image of [Woods] could be worth a quarter of a million dollars."

"When he goes somewhere he goes somewhere to disappear. He is a very public figure and he knows what fame is and if he wanted his picture taken it would have been taken by now," said Peter Grossman, News Photo Editor for US Weekly magazine.

The rehab photo is just the latest blow to the downward spiral that has become Tiger's post-scandal publicity campaign.

Thanks to the the car crash and subsequent sex scandal, Woods has seen his reputation tarnished in a way that few would have ever thought was possible pre-Thanksgiving. His image was always one of a quiet, family-oriented sports star who brands like Cadillac, Nike and many others used as their spokesperson. Since the mess began, Woods has been dropped by several sponsors, put his golf career on hold, and perhaps even more important than all of those, suffered a blow in the court of public opinion that may take years to overcome.

Tags: tiger woods, TigerWoods

Comments

(235)

Thursday 21 January

By tedieme

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what is the purpose of following Woods..so he's in rehab, now what? Gossip hounds and rags mags and their websites are are akin to animals waiting for fresh meat..you people are pathetic!

By FAN

I think the picture actually helps his reputation right now. The man is actually trying to do something about a problem he has. More people need to recognize their problems like he has in this situation and do something about it.

Good for Tiger!

By Gee

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His problem has to do with morality not addiction...

By Don

You guys are all wet. If he hadn't gone to rehab you would be saying he doesn't care about his reputation or his family and now he does go and he has been doing it quietly and the media monster still wants to be fed. If it was a PR stunt he wouldn't have been doing it quietly. It is not a nightmare where we are concerned. He is trying to help himself and his family and media still won't let them alone. Gossip shows and writers thus far have shown how sick they are.

By happy commenting

PR NIGHTMARE? THIS PHOTO? NOW IS THIS A FINE EXAMPLE OF "PROFILING" OR WHAT BY THE PAPARAZZI?
What makes the photo a nightmare? Black man wearing a hoodie?
Give me and everyone else a royal break.
Tiger is just one of MANY (I'd venture to guess and say MOST) men that has stepped out on his wife, his kids, and his sacred vows. Problem here is, he is immensely famous.
Sorry, buddy, but there has been a stream of famous men "caught" in what they and their families would LOVE to have been kept private... their "private" lives.
You see sex splashed all over the tv on regular shows during the family hour... and it seems to be the NORM, now, for young people to be involved in adult situations.
Every single INDIVIDUAL JUDGING Tiger and his actions needs to review their own behaviors and keep their mouths shut. But for the grace of GOD!
Could the white hot spot of publicity be any brighter than the brilliance of God's judgement? Absolutely not. But, at least with GOD... you have the chance of forgiveness. With the paparazzi and the general public? Not so much.

By riddle

what if all things are meant tobe and no one is in control of what is happening now?

By ZAK

WOODY got stop to stop going to the fishing pond using that fishing pole

By Marilyn Suzanne

Why Mississippi?

By musician52

one doesn't get over their addictions in a rehab in just a few weeks or a few months. what a crock

Friday 22 January

By BETHIE

LEAVE HIM ALONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By vicvod

The guy is an egotistical idiot.

By voodkokk

When Obama starts charging for every page on the Internet which contibutes to global warming, wasting electricity and bandwidth you will see crap stories like this go away.

By charles3252

Tiger Woods, All American male, All American man, All American golfer, he can do whatever he wants, sleep with anyone he wants, stay wherever he wants, whenever he wants. This is America and he has the money to pay his own way.

By KJ

The problem with all of this is that the very people who like to talk negatively about these incidents have junk in their own lives. Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone!

By k6185

Sure don't look like Tiger to me . If it is so what? Forget this guy, there 's many more important issues going on right now. IF this is a P.R. stunt by tigers' advisors or entourage, whats' the purpose?

By king07global

I appropriate (plead) the Blood of Jesus Christ over Tiger Woods and his family. May God rebuke all their enemies and all the tongues that rise up against them.

By Michelle

Really does not matter how much healing he gets. I say take away his use of the green back (money) and then he will really learn. The more the public sets a price tag on him the more money he makes. He will never learn until he cannot pay his way out of a jam. Tough love! that is what will work.

By Richard

If you're a person to whom Tiger Woods and his antics are important you don't have much of a life.

By pat clark

what is wrong with the picture and the information as to where Tiger is? nothing at all.

By Patrick

Hmm. Lets see. There is a new book out on Warren Beatty that claims he slept with about 12,000 women over the course of his lifetime. He slept with dozens of beautiful actresses, celebrities, and yes, I bet he also slept with dozens of waitresses, hotel staff, and groupies.

But no one ever called him a sex addict. Why? Because he was single when he got busy with it. He got married to Annette Benning when he was around 55 years old and if he has cheated on her, no one really knows (or possibly cares anymore).

So Tiger sleeps with 10-15 women and he is some kind of man whore? Puh-Lease.

How many athletes, how many actors, how many other famous people do the same exact thing? Even if they're married?

He is no sex addict. He just didn't have his priorities straight. He wanted to have kids so he got married to the hottest woman he could find and continued to have sex with other women as he did it. But people love to see someone who is famous take a fall.

Tiger's mistakes were that he wanted to maintain a squeaky clean image (which he could have done had he remained single and slept around...no one cares who a single guy is sleeping with) and have the perfect family life. He wanted to have kids so he found the hottest woman who was quiet and unobtrusive so she wouldn't be too flashy, just look good on his arm, and married her.

Maybe if he had waited, like Warren Beatty, until he was 55 to get married, he wouldn't have had any problems.

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