It is often said that a crisis does not define an organisation. How it is handled, however, does.
In 2025, several high-profile figures and institutions learned this the hard way. In each case, the reputational damage was not driven solely by the incident itself, but by hesitation, misjudgment or tone-deaf communication once the spotlight was on them.
Below, we examine five of the most instructive PR failures of the year.
The Kiss Cam Controversy: Astronomer and CEO Andy Byron
At a Coldplay concert in Boston in July, the band’s “kiss cam” lingered on a couple in the crowd. They quickly ducked out of frame, prompting a joke from Chris Martin about an affair. Online sleuths soon identified the man as Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and the woman as the company’s HR chief, Kristin Cabot.
What followed became a reputational issue for Astronomer, not necessarily because of the on-screen moment, but because of the response that followed. The company remained publicly silent for more than 48 hours. In that time, speculation flourished and the narrative shifted from an awkward personal incident to broader concerns about power dynamics, professionalism and leadership culture within the tech sector.
When a statement was eventually issued, it was procedural and detached. Direct leadership communication arrived too late to reframe the story. By then, Astronomer was reacting rather than leading.
Live, viral moments carry risk: audiences tend to accept that. What they are far less forgiving of is delayed, impersonal leadership when clarity and humanity are expected.
PR lesson: Speed communicates values. Silence opens a vacuum for others to fill, and it rarely works in your favour.
The Post Office: Apologies Without Resolution
By 2025, the Post Office should have been firmly focused on rebuilding trust after the Horizon scandal. Instead, ongoing delays to compensation, further revelations and carefully scripted leadership appearances continued to inflame public anger.
The reputational issue was no longer the original miscarriage of justice. It was the failure to convincingly demonstrate urgency, ownership and progress. Apologies were repeated, but they were not matched by visible outcomes. Each update prolonged the story rather than closing it.
Communications remained cautious and legalistic at a time when affected sub-postmasters were still waiting for redress. The result was apology fatigue and a deepening sense that accountability was being managed, not delivered.
PR lesson: Saying sorry repeatedly does not rebuild trust if the underlying issue remains unresolved.
Michelle Mone: Lessons in How Not to Communicate
Michelle Mone remained a central figure in the PPE Medpro scandal throughout 2025. A High Court ruling ordered a company linked to her husband to repay £122 million for faulty Covid PPE, prompting cross-party calls for her to be stripped of her peerage. The company later missed its repayment deadline and entered administration with minimal assets.
Mone’s response was combative and highly visible, delivered largely through social media and formal letters. She denied wrongdoing, accused the government of a vendetta and highlighted the pursuit of other suppliers. While legally defensive, the tone failed to acknowledge public anger over profiteering during a national crisis.
Her positioning of events was met with widespread scepticism, particularly as the ruling came from an independent court. The longer the dispute continued, the more entrenched public opinion became.
PR lesson: You lose decisively in the court of public opinion if you can’t read the room.
Rachel Reeves: The Pre-Budget Fiasco
Rachel Reeves’ 2025 Budget was intended to be a moment of authority. Instead, it unravelled before it was delivered.
In the weeks leading up to the announcement, ministers were accused of talking up the scale of potential tax rises in an attempt to soften the eventual impact. Rather than reassuring the public, this approach created suspicion and the budget came to be seen as a piece of expectation management rather than economic leadership.
The situation worsened when the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast was accidentally made publicly accessible around 40 minutes before Reeves began her statement in Parliament. In a remarkable moment, broadcasters were reading budget headlines before the Chancellor had reached the dispatch box.
Between the pre-budget signalling, muddled briefings and the OBR leak, the narrative collapsed. The substance of the budget was largely lost.
PR lesson: Managing expectations is not the same as gaming them. Once credibility slips, it is difficult to recover.
Mohamed Salah: The Interview That Shouldn’t Have Happened
Mohamed Salah is one of football’s most respected players, which made his emotional post-match interview all the more damaging. His suggestion that the club was “throwing him under the bus” played out live and without context.
The fallout extended beyond Salah himself. The interview embarrassed the manager, unsettled the dressing room and exposed internal tensions that should have remained private. A now-viral clip showing the club’s press officer visibly reacting in the background captured the scale of the communications breakdown.
Elite football environments rely on trust and internal alignment and publicly airing grievances creates instability.
PR lesson: Authenticity still requires boundaries, particularly in high-pressure, high-visibility environments.
Final Thought
What unites these five cases is not ego, scandal or bad luck. It is poor judgment at critical moments, often compounded by delay, defensiveness or an inability to read the room.
PR does not exist to make people look good. It exists to help leaders and organisations act wisely when it matters most.
If you would like to discuss crisis communications or reputational strategy, get in touch.