TWO MUSIC CITY PR FIRMS’ WEBSITES COULD NOT BE REACHED
The website of the Nashville PR firm embattled by a sexual assault and harassment scandal appears to have been taken offline. An error message displayed today (11/5) when trying to reach the website of Webster Public Relations, the one-time behemoth publicity firm responsible for country music legends. Also, the website for Westby PR, a new firm launched by a former Webster executive, appears to be down as well. These are the latest developments in what has been an intense week for the firm, its founder, and its now-former staff.
The new website issues come just over a week after its founder and CEO, Kirt Webster, was accused of sexual assault by former client Austin C. Rick. In a Facebook post, Rick detailed his experiences with Webster while trying to make it in the music business. His post went viral over the weekend. By Halloween morning, both local and national outlets were reporting Rick’s story. The very next day, Kirt Webster’s world began to crumble.
It was on Wednesday (Nov. 1) that the Webster PR website redirected visitors to a message saying the firm had closed and that all inquiries should be directed to Jeremy Westby. By mid-afternoon, the site was back online. The PR firm representing Mr. Webster and his business issued a statement denying Rick’s accusations, and said the closure message was displayed in error. Instead, the business would be changing hands to longtime firm partner Westby, including a name change to Westby PR.
Wednesday evening, former employees came forward to say that Mr. Webster fostered a hostile work environment. These employees-speaking to The Tennessean (USA Today) on condition of anonymity-said the staff suffered a high turnover rate because of this behavior. They stated that Mr. Webster hired staff right out of college, those eager to get their start at one of the music industry’s biggest firm. Some who spoke out claim this allowed Webster to manipulate new employees by threatening their burgeoning careers and exploiting their inexperience.
As allegations continued to snowball, clients swiftly dropped the firm. First, Kid Rock fired Webster. Tent pole clients Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers followed shortly after, along with dozens more. By Friday (11/3), the Webster client page had disappeared altogether, and all staff had been removed from the ‘About’ page on the website.
Shortly after the major fallout on Wednesday, Senior VP Scott Adkins left Webster PR and launched his own firm, Adkins Publicity. On Thursday, Jeremy Westby told AllAccess.com that he too had stepped down from the firm that was to rebrand in his name. Instead, he said, he would be launching Westby PR as, “100% my firm.”
And now, Webster PR’s website appears to be offline for good. Westby PR’s landing page, which was active on Thursday, is down as well. Jeremy Westby also appears to have deleted his Twitter account. Whether that is due to high traffic from journalists reporting this story, or yet another change in plan going forward, is unknown.
The saga of the downfall of Kirt Webster-and the immensely powerful firm he helmed-continues to be the top story in country music.
