CASE STUDY
Felicity Huffman
The Challenge
On March 12, 2019, Academy Award-nominated, Emmy Award-winning actress Felicity Huffman was arrested by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and charged with wire fraud and conspiracy due to her role in the nationwide college admissions scandal. Overnight, her and her family’s reputation was greatly harmed. Ms. Huffman became a poster child for the injustices of white privilege in America and was condemned for undermining the college admissions system. Ms. Huffman approached The TASC Group, with whom she has a long-term relationship, to help manage this crisis, clear her family’s name and restore her reputation.
Our Strategy
TASC helped hire a team of experts from across the country to help Ms. Huffman mitigate this issue. This included hiring the top white-collar criminal defense lawyers who were familiar with the Federal Court system in Boston and building a legal team for both Ms. Huffman and her husband, the actor William H. Macy. The legal team agreed not to communicate with the media and referred all press inquiries to TASC. This enabled TASC to manage the media storm and outreach from day one of the crisis. TASC identified reporters who would handle the story responsibly and worked to dispel the myths surrounding the case. We cleared her daughter’s name within days of the story breaking.
Our team worked together with our clients and legal team to write and distribute powerful, on-the-record statements from Ms. Huffman that began to shift the public perception of her actions. We also coordinated her statements before her sentencing in front of the judge, as well as letters sent to the court by friends, family and neighbors, attesting to her character. We worked with the team to prepare our client on how to act in the courtroom, what to say to the judge, what her demeanor should be and how to dress. Our team also vetted and helped select the organizations with which Ms. Huffman would perform her community service hours.
Results
In her sentencing, the judge referenced our client’s demeanor and applauded the way she conducted herself publicly.
TASC successfully restored Ms. Huffman and her family’s reputation. She served a short sentence and completed her community service hours. She has been universally applauded for how she has handled this crisis, for how she has taken full responsibility, for how she has acted with humility and grace under pressure and for her authentic contrition. Both of her daughters, despite the controversy, have been admitted to excellent colleges. Entertainment industry leaders have signaled to Ms. Huffman and her team that they are ready to work with her again when she is ready to return to work.
MEDIA COVERAGE
