Mitchell Jackson on Crisis PR, Billionaire Clients and Cancel CultureMitchell Jackson on Crisis PR, Billionaire Clients and Cancel Culture
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Crisis publicist Mitchell Jackson talks about getting sober young, losing his job in a public scandal, and building a PR business around controversial clients. He shares his blunt view on cancellation, public shame and why staying calm and practical matters more than chasing approval.
59:01•20 May 2026
Mitchell Jackson on Chaos, Cancellation and Staying Sober in Crisis PR
Episode Overview
- Sobriety can protect you in crisis; Mitchell felt the only way his public scandal could be worse was if he were drunk during it.
- Cancellation is framed as a choice, with Mitchell arguing that some people lean into the label instead of taking responsibility and moving forward.
- Not all crises are equal; what feels like the end of the world for one person can be a “million-dollar day” for another, depending on pressure tolerance and public persona.
- Practical ethics matter in crisis PR, with Mitchell turning down wealthy clients who expect illegal or self-destructive strategies just because they can pay.
- Growing up amid chaos can build a strange resilience, and Mitchell shows how that background can be redirected into clear-headed, drama-free sobriety at home, even when work is on fire.
“My theory of cancellation is you choose to be cancelled.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol while working in a job fuelled by chaos? This conversation with crisis publicist Mitchell Jackson pulls back the curtain on what it really looks like to manage public shame, work with controversial figures, and stay sober through it all.
Mitchell talks candidly about his early relationship with alcohol, sharing that “the first time I drank when I was 15, it was out of control… it was, like, instant.” Growing up amid family addiction and throwing cash-only house parties in Florida, he treated chaos like a business long before he ever billed a client.
Sobriety came at 23, and he’s stayed dry even through intense professional scandals, explaining that during his own public fallout, “the only way this could be worse is if I was drunk during that.” Host A.J. Daulerio and Mitchell swap war stories about public shaming, lawsuits, and that familiar fear of being “cancelled”.
Mitchell’s take is blunt: “my theory of cancellation is you choose to be cancelled,” pushing back on the idea that a bad headline ends a life or career. Instead, he talks about playing “the card you’re dealt” and refusing to wallow in victimhood.
You’ll hear how he turned being sacked from Vice on the same day as Harvey Weinstein news broke into the start of his own PR shop, at first taking any work he could get – including getting a Mexican restaurant onto the Kelly Clarkson show with a pool full of bean dip.
He also shares how his mum’s battles with PETA outside her Florida pet shops taught him to work with reality, not against it, and why he happily turns down billionaire clients who expect him to say yes to illegal or reckless schemes. For anyone in recovery who’s ever wondered how to handle public mistakes, shame, or internet pile-ons, this one asks a simple question: are you choosing to be cancelled, or choosing to carry on?
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