Anna Wintour’s Vogue cover is more than a cameo – it’s a power play
The Guardian
Mark Borkowski, a press consultant and author, describes Wintour’s appearance on the cover as “a hell of a smart move”. “This is very much about Wintour not letting go of her power,” he says. “A lot of people in these types of jobs recognise they are sitting in a chair that has power. Wintour doesn’t believe that. She believes she is the power. She’s not a personality that’s going to fade away into the background.”
Even the ideation of the cover hints at the authority Wintour still wields. Writing in her editor’s letter, Malle outlines how it came about. She was in the backseat of Wintour’s personal town car (a nice power play by Wintour, and reminiscent of the first film) running ideas for the next batch of covers past her (a tacit hint that all the big decisions still need to be approved by Wintour) when Malle first suggested the idea. Wintour initially shot it down, saying: “That’s very flattering, Chloe, but it’s not really my style.” It then, so the story goes, fell to Streep to persuade her. Wintour called the Hollywood star directly (another not-so-subtle power move).
Wintour was dismissive of the first film when it came out in 2006. Although she did attend the premiere – wearing Prada, no less – she was cagey about her reaction. In 2024, at the opening of the musical version in London, she told the BBC that it was “for the audience and for the people I work with to decide if there are any similarities between me and Miranda Priestly”.
However, more recently she has seemed happier to engage, suggesting that Priestly is very much “a caricature” and a highly enjoyable and very fun one at that. The various social media videos that accompany the shoot drive this idea home. Streep stays in character, while Wintour plays herself. We see her fumble her lines and get the giggles. She is warm and witty, a sharp contrast to the icy Priestly.
We first saw her toy with the idea at the Oscars in March, where she jokingly referred to Anne Hathaway as “Emily”, a nod to Emily Blunt’s character in the film. Meanwhile, the next read in the Vogue Book Club is the novel by Lauren Weisberger that inspired the film. Borkowski suggests these stunts hint that Wintour is beginning to separate herself from brand Vogue. “Her life has been defined by Vogue,” he says. “Back in the day she was recognisable by a very distinctive haircut and a pair of dark glasses. She was a cypher. But now it’s all about the narrative of the personal brand.” She is, he says, “getting involved in the film because she sees it as something that can establish Anna Wintour, the brand”.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Brand Crisis: Why They’re Struggling in Hollywood and What’s Next (Exclusive)
US Weekly
PR expert Mark Borkowski says the public wants clarity. “When a brand arrives and says, ‘We are many things, all of them meaningful,’ the audience hears: ‘Work it out yourself.’ And they don’t,” he adds. Brand and PR expert Natalie Trice believes that while “there’s still strong public interest in what Meghan does,” her constantly changing stance is problematic. “Is [her thing] jam? Is it fashion? Is it charity work? Yes, you can do it all — but that true passion needs to be clear.” The second source, however, contends that they have various types of projects that speak to their interests.
The first source says their projects to date “have [too] narrow [of an] appeal.” In addition to With Love, Meghan, Netflix also aired Polo, Harry’s 2024 docuseries about his friend Nacho Figueras, and 2023’s Heart of Invictus, a docuseries centered around the Invictus Games, his global sporting event for wounded service members. Their next TV series is set to be about polo, and they just recently sold Cookie Queens — a documentary about Girl Scouts — which they executive-produced.
‘You’re barred..!’
The Eye. Wales
The announcement was made after it emerged that the shocking reported comeback by Edwards, had been slammed.
Public Relations (PR) expert Mark Borkowski warned that Edwards’ photographic display of himself in this supposed return risked appearing insensitive and deliberately provocative, proclaiming: “A picture like this tells you he wants to be seen again. But one stylish photograph can’t rewrite the past. It risks looking tone-deaf, even provocative”.
FADING STARS Meghan Markle & Harry’s ‘star power wasn’t as successful as they hoped’, says pro amid claims they lead separate lives
The Sun
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry seem to be focusing on solo work projects and increasing living separate lives, according to royal experts.
And a PR expert has claimed that the reason for the Sussexes focusing on individual projects is that their “star power wasn’t as successful as they hoped.”
PR guru Mark Borkowski told Best magazine: “There has been a separation [of their work] for a while.
“Harry is ‘going back to basics’ with a formula that worked well for him as a Royal Family member, but there’s also the realisation that the couple’s ‘star power’ wasn’t as successful as they hoped.
“They had to change the narrative.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/royals/31087601/meghan-markle-prince-harry-separate-lives-star-power/
Kanye West is trying to uncancel himself
The Observer
Talking to Vanity Fair in February, Censori, 31, said she didn’t marry him for a platform: “I married him because I love him.” Censori is famed for wearing highly exposing outfits, which – with her perma-frozen countenance – reads as submissive and sex-doll-like.
At the 2025 Grammy awards, while West was fully dressed, she wore a skimpy transparent dress with no underwear. “He was covered head to toe in black and there was this woman virtually not wearing a fig leaf,” says Mark Borkowski, whose PR agency specialises in crisis communications and reputation management. “I thought it was incredibly exploitative.”
https://observer.co.uk/news/profile/article/profile-kanye-west-outspoken-rapper
What happened to Prince Harry’s American dream? He’s living ‘his version’ of it but ‘fighting irrelevance’
Hello Mag
In 2020, the Duke and Duchess inked deals with Netflix and Spotify, though they parted ways with the latter in 2023. Despite what the Sussexes have produced in the years since and what they have in the pipeline, crisis and reputation consultant Mark Borkowski believes Harry’s “legacy is largely already secured”.
“Invictus is the substance. Everything else – Hollywood deals, media ventures, streaming content – all a sideshow,” Mark tells HELLO!. “Well-paid, occasionally compelling, but ultimately secondary. The risk isn’t collapse. It’s dilution.”
Is Prince Harry’s American dream over? He’s ‘fighting irrelevance’, says crisis expert | HELLO!
Prince Harry warned over huge ‘risk’ as life in the US in doubt
Express
Now, a PR expert has claimed Harry’s “legacy is largely already secured” but warned him about one “risk” he needs to be cautious about.
Crisis and reputation consultant Mark Borkowski told Hello! magazine: “Invictus is the substance. Everything else – Hollywood deals, media ventures, streaming content – all a sideshow.
“Well-paid, occasionally compelling, but ultimately secondary. The risk isn’t collapse. It’s dilution.”
Mr Borkowski added that the Duke is now navigating a “post-hype phase” following the release of his memoir, Spare, in 2023.
He explained: “Sentiment has faded and everyone still judges. [Harry is] no longer the Spare phenomenon. He has lost purpose.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/2190346/prince-harry-risk-warning/amp
What happened to Prince Harry’s American dream? He’s living ‘his version’ of it but ‘fighting irrelevance’
Hello
In 2020, the Duke and Duchess inked deals with Netflix and Spotify, though they parted ways with the latter in 2023. Despite what the Sussexes have produced in the years since and what they have in the pipeline, crisis and reputation consultant Mark Borkowski believes Harry’s “legacy is largely already secured”.
“Invictus is the substance. Everything else – Hollywood deals, media ventures, streaming content – all a sideshow,” Mark tells HELLO!. “Well-paid, occasionally compelling, but ultimately secondary. The risk isn’t collapse. It’s dilution.”
Under their deal with Netflix, Harry has executive-produced multiple projects, including the documentary series Heart of Invictus and POLO. He will once again be revisiting the world of polo, along with Meghan, in another series, a polo-themed drama, first reported by Deadline in March.
Stripping away the “gloss” of Montecito, Mark suggests that what remains of Harry is a figure navigating a “post-hype phase” following the release of Spare, his 2023 memoir.
“Sentiment has faded and everyone still judges,” Mark says. “[Harry is] no longer the Spare phenomenon. He has lost purpose. After the cool appraisal from Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, the Sussex story has shifted from myth to metrics. Not ‘Who are they?’ but ‘What do they actually deliver?'”
The Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, which featured the Duke and Duchess, debuted in December of 2022 with a total of 23.4 million views and reached the English Top 10 TV list in 85 countries. Meanwhile, the Duchess’ lifestyle series With Love, Meghan debuted in the Global Top 10 TV list and reached the Top 10 in 24 countries, drawing 5.3 million views in the first half of 2025, per the streamer.
Outside of Harry’s Hollywood ventures, what the royal still has “in the mix is hopeful,” according to Mark. “The Invictus Games Foundation carries real, unshakeable authenticity – earned, not engineered,” he says.
BBC sacked Scott Mills when ‘compelling new information’ emerged from underage accuser a decade after police investigation
Daily Mail
Media expert and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail: ‘The BBC need to come clean about what exactly they know about the alleged investigation into Mills, otherwise there will be backlash from listeners who are confused why he has been sacked for something that happened 10 years ago.’
The Daily Mail revealed this week how the complaint sparking Mills’ axeing was thought to have come from someone inspired to speak out again this year following the recent Channel 5 docudrama about disgraced ex-BBC newsreader Huw Edwards.
Scott Mills’ podcast with Rylan Clark ‘is axed just weeks before its release’ after he was sacked by the BBC – as he breaks his silence in wake of sex offence allegations
Daily Mail
Media expert and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail: ‘The BBC need to come clean about what exactly they know about the alleged investigation into Mills, otherwise there will be backlash from listeners who are confused why he has been sacked for something that happened 10 years ago.’
The Wedding That Wasn’t: Is Zendaya’s Team Testing Fan Loyalty With a ‘Fake’ Marriage
International Business Times
The most pointed gesture came at the Los Angeles premiere of The Drama on Tuesday, when Zendaya arrived in a Vivienne Westwood gown she had first worn to the 2015 Oscars, the same night that red-carpet presenter Giuliana Rancic sparked a furious backlash by suggesting Zendaya’s dreadlocks made her look like she ‘smells like patchouli oil and weed,’ a comment the actress later described as ‘ignorant.’
Revisiting that dress on her own terms was deliberate. ‘Technically, it was a wedding gown,’ Roach said. ‘I had that dress in my archive.’
She wore her engagement ring and what appeared unmistakably to be a wedding band. Celebrity branding expert Mark Borkowski, observing from the sidelines, was blunt about the impression. ‘What she’s done recently is found a way of turning a narrative into cultural gossip without ever making it look like marketing or a hard sell,’ he told Page Six.
‘She’s got this new product and she leans into the rumours around Tom Holland, but never declares it.’ Borkowski compared the strategy to old Hollywood studio-era tactics, calling it ‘bewitch the algorithm’ in modern packaging.
‘When you leave everyone speculating it creates noise and heat for a new project. It’s not an accident, it’s clever choreography.’
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/zendaya-secret-marriage-speculation-hollywood-buzz-1787270
There’s a big reason why Zendaya keeps teasing fans with rumor about ‘marriage’ to Tom Holland
Page 6
During a “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” appearance on March 16, she revealed that “many people” in her life were mad about not being invited to the wedding after AI-generated photos online seemingly showed her and Holland getting hitched.
And while Holland was not spotted with Zendaya at the Oscars on March 15, where she and Pattinson presented the Best Director award to Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”), her massive engagement diamond was accompanied by a gold band that sure looked like a wedding ring.
One celebrity branding expert called it all calculated “catnip.”
“They’re genuflecting back to the tricks of the trade of the [old Hollywood] studio days,” Mark Borkowski said of Zendaya and her team, including Roach. “It’s remaining in control … If you’re really realistic, you know your moment is transient. In modern terms, it’s what we all try to do with publicity: bewitch the algorithm.
“What she’s done recently is found a way of churning a narrative into cultural gossip without ever looking like it’s marketing or a hard sell,” Borkowski told Page Six. “She’s got this new product and she leans into the rumors around Tom Holland — but never declares it.”
Indeed, even her stylist admits the tease is equal parts something old and something new.
Prince William’s Coronation Could Happen ‘Soon’ Amid Rumors of King Charles’ Abdication
Star Magazine
Kate is determined all three grow up without the damaging dynamics that plagued previous generations of royals and “spare” heirs like Andrew and William’s estranged brother, Prince Harry, 41. “Even if George will be king, Kate feels passionately that her children all grow into useful, independent people,” says the source. “She would hate for Charlotte or Louis to feel the same sense of insecurity as, say, Harry did growing up. The last thing the family needs is another ‘spare’ saga.”
The stakes for the future king are enormous. Crisis consultant Mark Borkowski recently warned that restoring the monarchy’s credibility will fall depend entirely on William. “Really, what do William and Kate do? What do their generation do with the crown, with all its soft power, its affairs of state?” Borkowski told The Independent. “The pressure on William to communicate what the royal family is going to be over the next 50 years falls squarely on his shoulders.”
Strictly Come Dancing’s history of ageism rows and scandals as show waltzes into yet another controversy after Nadiya Bychkova, 36, was axed
Daily Mail
PR guru Mark Borkowski has said that with Tess and Claudia going in a matter of months, Britain is now watching the ‘slow death’ of Strictly and the presenters are fleeing a ‘dying format’ to protect their own careers.
‘This is the slow death of Strictly’, he said.
‘ITV can hear the death rattle. Stars are wary after all the recent headlines. People have seen the writing on the wall, who wants to be the last act in a long-running variety show, thanking a studio audience that’s already halfway to bed?
‘The exit of Claudia and Tess is brand preservation. Timing is everything and nothing kills a career faster than loyalty to a dying format’.
He added: ‘When you’ve fronted a juggernaut that’s starting to creak under its own sequins, the smartest move is to waltz off while the music still sounds half-decent’.
A clanger about cats could sink Jessie Buckley’s Oscar campaign
The Telegraph
The run-up to the Oscars ceremony is a “crucial time” for the nominated actors, explained Mark Borkowski, a British PR consultant. “That is the time to strategically manage what you say and what you do during this time, because everybody wants a soundbite from you.”
Mr Borkowski said that the “number one piece of advice” he gave to celebrities before an interview was to “never comment on cats and dogs. No pets, particularly cats and dogs”.
“People judge celebrities on their relationship with their pets and particularly it comes down to cats and dogs,” he added.
Could the comments cost her an Oscar? “It’s a sharp lesson in the intricacies and the strategic campaigns you have to manage during that time. Her team has struck me as being quite naive to allow that amount of access to her,” added Mr Borkowski.
A clanger about cats could sink Jessie Buckley’s Oscar campaign
‘I’m a celebrity crisis PR and I know disgraced Huw Edwards’ desperate last move’
The Express
However PR consultant and Celebrity Crisis Manager Mark Borkowski doesn’t believe that was his intention as he revealed what Edwards could do possibly now that he is no longer in the spotlight. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, he said: “I don’t think he did [attempt a relaunch]. You see, anything like that is about the nuance, and it’s what people perceive that action to be,” he said.
Mark acknowledged it would be impossible for Huw to make a comeback in his previous profession. “I think there are certain people who are irredeemable. And whether you’re Jeffrey Epstein or Huw Edwards, you are what you have done,” he said.
“There are certain things that are not recoverable. It is what you do, not what pictures you put out or whatever [that will shape the opinion of you], but what you do. Probably one of the greatest historic examples is John Profumo,” Mark said.
“He was part of a honey trap with Russian spies and whatever and disappeared from public view, but did a huge amount of good charitable work after that,” Mark said.
“That is his legacy. His legacy isn’t whether or not people in the public eye are writing good things about him. He quietly got on with it, and that’s that’s what you have to deal with.
“Where someone is used to being in the limelight all the time and cravings that limelight again when it’s gone it comes down to what you are as a human being.
“That’s also partly what reputation managers have to do is deliver bad news to people or come up with some extraordinary idea that reclaims someone’s reputation,” he said.
Inside Armie Hammer’s Life Five Years After ‘Cannibal’ Scandal: Therapy, Dating and Money ‘Struggles’ (Exclusive)
US Weekly
Others still have their doubts about a comeback. On his podcast, The Armie Hammertime (which he launched in October 2024 and is now on hiatus), Hammer shared several provocative views, including admitting that he “loved marijuana roofie-ing people.” And in Frontier Crucible, his character sexually assaults a woman — an odd choice to kick off his showbiz return. “You cannot say, ‘I understand the harm [I’ve done]’ and then reenter the conversation by reenacting it,” says PR expert Mark Borkowski. “It’s tone-deaf, bordering on self-sabotage.” An insider tells Us Hammer understands “the sensitivity and why people might question the optics,” noting that the role required serious reflection and “wasn’t chosen lightly. He was just really eager to work again and get back to what he loves doing, acting.”
He’ll have to be strategic about what he does next. “Will he ever be where he once was? Probably not,” says Borkowski, “but Hollywood doesn’t need you to be spotless — just useful.” The first source says Hammer doesn’t feel “entitled” to forgiveness: “His focus is on taking responsibility, continuing the work and earning trust through consistent actions over time, regardless of the outcome.” The insider adds that Hammer still struggles with daily life challenges, “like any other human being,” but is committed to his recovery path and “just being a positive person in others’ lives.”
Armie Hammer’s Life Post-Scandal: Therapy, Fatherhood and Acting Again (Excl) | Us Weekly
‘Build a narrative and fight back’: Mandelson draws on own advice for crisis management
The Guardian
The crisis PR consultant Mark Borkowski said the instruction of Mishcon de Reya was a sign that Mandelson believed that “attack was the best form of defence”. He suggested the police would be under pressure over what now appeared to have been a “performative arrest”.
Up until the search of Mandelson’s homes in early February, the peer had dealt with media queries personally. The change of approach did carry risks, Lyons said, and certainly the continued drama was a thorn in the side of Starmer’s government as it sought to reset.
“It’s understandable why the peer wants to present himself as the victim of an injustice – and mentioning his desire to stay with his husband and dog was a nice human touch,” he said. “But the danger is, given all that has come out, this approach only serves to anger the police while further alienating the public. I’m sure he will be at pains to present himself as cooperating fully going forward.”
Meet the next Gen Beckhams: How Romeo, Cruz and Harper are poised to take family ‘dynasty’ into new era
Hello Magazine
“The Beckham brand has evolved into a dynasty, and Cruz and Romeo are entering their imperial phase with surprisingly good timing,” the leading PR expert Mark Borkowski tells HELLO!.
“David and Victoria have done something incredibly difficult in the age of instant backlash and overexposure: they’ve raised two sons who are entering the fame economy without looking as though they’ve been focus-grouped into existence.”
Mark Borkowski adds of Romeo: “He is carving out a route that feels less like inherited celebrity and more like someone who understands the fashion world’s appetite for narrative. He’s got the look, the access and, crucially, the restraint, which is rare for second-generation fame. If they maintain this trajectory, they’re not going to be lumped in with the usual nepo-baby clichés.”
Speaking about the trio’s earning potential, Mark Borkowski says that they are certain to increase the family’s fortunes. “A billion-dollar outcome is possible, but it will depend entirely on whether each of them can establish authentic gravity beyond the family narrative,” he says.
Exclusive: ‘Nepo baby’ Harper Beckham is on the cusp of a ‘billion-dollar enterprise’
Hello Magazine
Victoria Beckham has built a fashion and beauty empire worth hundreds of millions, and is defined by her polished style and natural approach to make-up. While her sons have pursued music and modelling avenues, her youngest and only daughter seems poised to follow in her famous mum’s footsteps – and could become the “next big beauty mogul” with billion-dollar potential, according to experts.
Harper Beckham, 14, has – much like her mum – shown a passion for makeup and skincare as she’s grown up in the public eye, often supporting Victoria’s brand and filming beauty tutorials posted to her mum’s social media.
“Harper researches for hours and has a real interest in beauty products,” Victoria once told HELLO! Fashion about her daughter’s interest in the industry. And it appears a debut beauty range from the teen could potentially be on the horizon after HIKU BY HARPER was reportedly filed for trademark application by Victoria’s company in October 2025.
Meanwhile, leading PR expert Mark Borkowski says that Harper and her brothers, Cruz and Romeo, are certain to increase the family’s fortunes. “A billion-dollar outcome is possible, but it will depend entirely on whether each of them can establish authentic gravity beyond the family narrative,” he tells us.
Exclusive: ‘Nepo baby’ Harper Beckham is on the cusp of a ‘billion-dollar enterprise’ | HELLO!