The panel
Simon Middleton
Motivational speaker, author of Brand New You, and MD of The Great British Banjo Company
Louise Presley-Turner
Personal growth coach at thegameoflife.co.uk and author of Mindset Mastery
Stuart Baggs
Former Apprentice contestant and founder/MD of Blue Wave, the second-biggest telecoms provider on the Isle Of Man
@KatieWeasel
Prolific Twitterer, notorious for caustic celeb comment
Shia LaBeouf
Maverick actor/”performance artist” who appeared at the Nymphomaniac film premiere with a bag on his head
SM I think he’s a compelling performer but I’m completely baffled.
LPT Every action we take is driven by a desire to feel a certain way. It’s about figuring out what your life values are and consciously starting to work toward them. From what I can see, his values are set in unhealthy ways that are sabotaging him. I’d recommend some time away from the spotlight to assess core feelings.
SB It’s nice to be unpredictable but he’s gone a bit extreme with the performance art stuff. I don’t see the purpose in it. He’s like the Chuckle Brothers – what’s the point?
@KW My advice would be to give that paper bag to Bono or Katie Hopkins.
Dapper Laughs
Daniel O’Reilly’s alter ego made jokes about rape and waggled his tongue between his fingers. This “character” was dropped by ITV2
SM I don’t buy that Dapper Laughs was a character. It was clearly him backpedaling, covering his arse. Beyond help.
LPT He could take inspiration from other people who’ve been through something similar. Like Russell Brand, actually.
SB I sympathise with this guy. You can’t just take quotes from a comedy performance out of context. A few people complained, then Bandwagon Britain jumped on him.
@KW Easy: TalkSport.
Russell Brand
Rascally rabble-rouser whose political revolution is yet to materialise; labelled a hypocrite by the tabloids
SM I personally disagree with him, but there’s room for refreshing irreverence on the political spectrum. I’d say his stock is actually rising. The more he gets kicked by certain sections of the media, the more his integrity increases.
LPT This new spiritual/political message is a bit out there. But a lot of the work I do is about following your joy, your bliss, your pleasure… and that’s exactly what Russell is doing.
SB Brand is an oxymoron, or just a moron. I’d say him and Bono should take a long walk off a short pier, but they’d probably just land in one of their luxury yachts.
@KW “Parklife!”
Katie Hopkins
Former Apprentice contestant hell-bent on being absolutely horrible in order to maintain a public profile
SM You can’t make a career out of attacking everybody. That’s no way to build a brand. The ones who survive have some actual talent under the fluff, and become presenters.
LPT She’s… not the nicest. I thought hard about this one. Everyone wants to look back when they’re 90 and feel like they’ve left the world a better place. So in this situation, I’d advise really thinking about the long-term impact of your behaviour and how it might be detrimental to yourself.
SB She is cynical without any talent. People might think that’s hypocritical coming from me but accounts don’t lie: my business success adds some credence to my opinions, while she just generates hatred. It’s her kids I feel sorry for. Imagine going to school and everyone saying: “Your mum’s that dick from the television.”
@KW Surely she’ll run out of targets in 2015? I’d like her to truly test her evil prowess by taking a negative stance on cotton wool, kittens or Mary Berry.
Bono
Backlash against presumptuous U2 album stunt + door fell off plane + falling off bike + Band Aid 30 = :(
SM I don’t think it’s a brand crisis. The moaning has come from people who didn’t like U2 anyway; the fans were all pretty cool with it. So he’s done the right thing: admitted they made a balls-up and moved on.
LPT When life gets chaotic, you need to get off the treadmill. Just stop. Try waiting for the storm to pass; that could be a U2 title, actually.
SB The man just needs to take a long holiday.
@KW I still think one of the other passengers opened that plane door. They couldn’t take it any more. Death was preferable.
