\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing about Mitchell is he recognizes that it\u2019s all a game,\u201d Lorenz says. \u201cHe is able to position his clients and work with the press effectively because he understands their goals.\u201d Given his brush with cancellation, \u201cHe\u2019s not a Pollyanna and he recognizes the bad-faith stuff, but he also knows the value of attention and how to manipulate attention online,\u201d adds Lorenz, who has seen her share of online drama.<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s really valuable because comms people, a lot of them, don\u2019t understand the way the internet is and how to leverage negative attention for subscribers.\u201d<\/p>\n The ability to harness negative attention for a positive outcome was preached to Jackson from an early age throughout his \u201cturbulent childhood,\u201d he explained to me casually over lunch. His parents\u2019 pet store just outside Miami was regularly protested<\/a> by animal advocacy groups, which his mother leaned into. \u201cIt was actually going to go out of business and the protests resurrected it because she turned it into a circus,\u201d Jackson recalls. \u201cShe had counterprotestors.\u201d As a child, Jackson says, he saw the \u201clong game\u201d in gaining and maintaining attention. His mother used to say, \u201cYou\u2019ll never starve in America if you\u2019re shameless. Only prideful people starve,\u201d he added, which sounds quite a bit like the motivating factor of his clientele.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jackson\u2019s childhood allowed him to learn how to thrive under chaotic circumstances. \u201cI actually feel more stressed when things are calm,\u201d he says. \u201cThat also makes me give much more rational advice to my clients because I\u2019m not operating out of a place of panic.\u201d This is a crucial skill for crisis management, which he provides to many clients, considering himself somewhat of a \u201cRick Rubin<\/strong> of controversy or a Yoda of scandal.\u201d<\/p>\n