Robin Thicke’s #AskThicke Q&A on Twitter was a total PR disaster

Robin Thicke

There are days when Twitter feels like a raging abyss. This feeling has been heightened by this week’s Supreme Court rulings, but that’s all I’ll say about that mess. Hashtags fly everywhere on Twitter, and Bieber madness still rules. Twitter has now redeemed itself. Robin Thicke’s team decided that Twitter was a good game for their man and hosted a VH1 #AskThicke discussion yesterday.

Here’s the problem: Robin devoted his entire new album, Paula, to his estranged wife, Paula Patton. I’ve already questioned the quick turnaround on this skeevy career move. Robin spent a great deal of his marriage groping random blondes as his team fed stories about his “functional dysfunctional marriage” to the tabloids. Now Robin is surprised that his woman left him and isn’t paying attention anymore.

Robin waged a massive campaign to win Paula’s heart again. He dedicated concerts to her, and she said nothing in response. Robin also filmed a stalky “Get Her Back” video that featured creepy text messages and threats of violence. The crowning touch on this douchey madness was Robin’s performance at Sunday’s BET Awards. I won’t post that video, but you can see it here. Robin cried throughout his performance. He introduced himself like this: “Good evening, my name is Robin Thicke, I’d like to dedicate this song to my wife, and say, ‘I miss you, and I’m sorry.’ This is called ‘Forever Love.’

Vom.

Then came the Twitter Q&A. God, this was such a bad idea, but I really enjoyed the results. People do not like Robin at all. You can see a thread of the overwhelmingly negative Twitter responses here, but these are some of my favorites:

Not too pretty, right? I don’t know what Robin’s team expected. Maybe they thought women would pile on and feel sorry for poor Robin since Paula is ignoring his pathetic declarations of love. Since that hasn’t happened, Robin’s Twitter account is ignoring all of the questions. Robin (or whomever) is only tweeting about “#SongsToGetHerBack.” #delusional

Robin Thicke

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, VH1, Getty & WENN

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

125 Responses to “Robin Thicke’s #AskThicke Q&A on Twitter was a total PR disaster”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Eve says:

    LOL!

    My personal favourites:

    “Jim Sheridan ‏@Jim_Sheridan 1 de jul

    Robin Thicke is getting terrible abuse on the #AskThicke hashtag. Maybe If he’d dressed less provocative & stayed sober it wouldn’t happen?”

    And:

    “Tom Bell @tombellforever

    #AskThicke If a train leaves Glasgow at 5pm at 100mph, another leaves Bristol at 6pm at 110mph how quickly can you stand in front of one?”

  2. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I. Love. This.

    • Lady Macbeth (ex HiddlesF) says:

      Me. Too.

    • Snazzy says:

      Me. Three.

    • Jenna says:

      Me four.

      The Schadenfreude is strong today….

      Normally I try to be a live and let live kinda gal – but all the insane drama based attention seeking whining he is doing is making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

      Last time I had this feeling ended up with me standing between a friend and the business end of a shotgun held by the nutter she had lived with before realizing he was an abusive ass. 4 hours of screaming, ranting, a shot across the bough to prove he meant business, and me basically tapdancing like a crazy woman verbally until I managed to talk the gun off us and into his OWN mouth. Messy, but by that point, I had already grasped that at the most, 2 people were walking out. Maybe only 1. And frankly, if required, I would be the 1. (Felt for the friend, but she kept richochetting between screaming how she hated him, and swearing through tears she loved him. By the end zone, I just wanted out of a mess I had gotten into when I came to get her and she wouldn’t just LEAVE, but wanted to get all her stuff into the car.) At the funeral, said friend would scream I was a killer and she hated me, they had loved each other and I had destroyed it all.

      Teach Midsummer’s Night Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet or Much Ado About Nothing if you want to cover Shakespeare in schools. But for the love of all that’s holy, can we get rid of the Romeo and Juliet crap? It just feeds the drama nonsense in abusive relationships. And frankly, if Paula goes back to him after all this crap, after all this public nonsense… she deserves him. They can just wreck themselves, just do it privately!

  3. The Old KC says:

    Stay strong and listen to your (probably quite nauseated) gut, Paula!!!

  4. lower-case deb says:

    when in doubt, #AskThicke. #pippatips

  5. R says:

    I’d feel bad but he is making this so public.

  6. Chicagogurl says:

    Thank you internets!

  7. Lolo-ology says:

    This is much like the glorious hashtag trainwreak that was #mynypd a while back. And also precisely why I love the internet sometimes! 😀

  8. Regarded says:

    I can’t believe I’m saying this but it looks like some people on twitter actually have common sense!
    I think he deserves the backlash. I know that some people in the past have said that Robin and Paula’s split is for PR, but we haven’t heard a peep out of her since it was announced.
    What’s really awful is that when I watched the Get Her Back video on YouTube, some people were saying that because he wrote, produced, and sang an entire album for her, he deserves forgiveness. Maybe if he didn’t publicly humiliate her with this manipulative album, she would be more inclined to forgive him.

    • Lindy79 says:

      Twitter has rare moments like this that make me love it, it usually involves a # directed at a complete tool but sometimes it’s just funny

      #Susanalbumparty (for Susan Boyle’s album launch) and
      #nowthatchersdead (When Maggie Thatcher died and people read it wrong, and thought Cher had died)

    • doofus says:

      “some people were saying that because he wrote, produced, and sang an entire album for her, he deserves forgiveness.”

      and THAT p*sses me off to no end. it goes along with the idea that if a woman says no to a guy, she’s a b*tch. as if she’s NOT ALLOWED to say no to someone.

      “but I was nice to her!”

      “but she didn’t want to go out with you!”

      you can be the sweetest guy alive and treat her like a princess and she STILL HAS THE RIGHT to say no. no man is entitled to a woman’s attention.

      and, as with Thicke, it doesn’t matter how much he apologizes. he is not entitled to her forgiveness no matter how sincere he is. she has the right to NOT take him back.

      • Eve says:

        Well said.

      • LakeMom says:

        Amen. But the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Robin’s dad is a total douchebag too.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        So true.

      • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

        I think one a person would never, ever want to hear this, from their partner: I don’t love you anymore. It’s not something that you did, or didn’t do necessarily. But that’s probably one of the worst ways, emotionally, to be dumped. When that person just doesn’t want to do it anymore.

        Thicke’s still an asshat..I can’t believe he thought this would make him look good–pr stunt or not.

  9. TheOriginalKitten says:

    LMAO…those tweets are hilarious.

  10. Jaderu says:

    Something’s up. I just think it’s all staged. #askToriSpelling

    • Size Does Matter says:

      Totally agree. #somethingsrotten

    • jax says:

      Although it probably is, I’m hoping its not because seriously, she’s looking awesome by letting himself hang and not saying a word.

    • kri says:

      #kri@#grossed out####

      Hey, Robin, if you had to jam your right hand up the bum of a blonde groupie, and your left hand up the bum of a brunette groupie, would that keep you from being able to write #stalkmywifesongs for even a few minutes? No? #unstoppable douche.

  11. Word Girl says:

    I loooove the train one, haha. My second fave is about the abuse on twitter. #Jeez, I LAUGHED SO HARD I CRIED. :p

  12. NN says:

    I don’t know who Robin Thicke is but that song is awful.
    That said, I think some people are taking his whole “winning back his wife” thing and turning it very nasty and honestly, it comes off as borderline jealousy and just plain catty.

    • paranormalgirl says:

      Really? You’re going to play the jealousy card? Over Robin Thicke? Really?

      • Eve says:

        LOL.

      • NN says:

        I have no dog in this fight, I am only talking about how some of the comments come across to me as an outsider looking in.
        I don’t know anything about Robin Thicke besides this whole drama that I only learned about today.
        To mock and berate him for his awful song is one thing, but for trying to win back his wife, no matter how cheesy it seems, does indeed come across as borderline jealousy. And I mean jealousy over his trying to ‘win back’ his wife.
        And I don’t see how that is something to be jealous about, in fact I find it strange, but that is how some of the comments come across.

      • doofus says:

        but what are these folks jealous OF?

        paula? doubt it, because most of them are saying “hold tight” and don’t give in.

        the douche himself? doubt it, because that’s exactly what people are calling him.

        his “dedication”? doubt it, because people aren’t seeing it as dedication…more like “harassment”.

        can you elaborate? maybe give an example of which comment comes across as “jealousy”?

      • Kiddo says:

        “I mean jealousy over his trying to ‘win back’ his wife. And I don’t see how that is something to be jealous about, in fact I find it strange”

        It is strange because absolutely no one is jealous. He opened himself up to this crap by making his plea to his wife part of the marketing campaign and the theme for his album, making a very public display, while his actions have been the polar opposite of a doting husband. People are calling him out on his bullshit.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        NN, can you really judge people for their opinions on him when you admittedly don’t know the backstory? The reason you find it strange is because it isn’t about jealousy.

        Here is the thing: Robin made the error of reinforcing a pre-existing narrative. He wrote a song that many women felt sounded like what men say when they are trying to force a woman into sexual situations. He had naked women topless in his video while the men were fully clothed. Then, stories emerge of him cheating on his wife. Then photos come out where he is taking a photo with a fan and he is sticking his hand up the backside of her skirt. After his wife leaves him, he repeatedly pressures her in very public ways to come back to him, which to some women appears like harassment.

        Individually, they might not mean much. Add them together, they form a picture that he doesn’t respect women. If there were stories about him being a jerk in other ways (bossy in the studio, bad tipper, etc), I don’t think people would be giving him such a hard time about his album. To many people like myself, the album seems insincere, like he is trying to convince female fans that he is worthy of their romantic fantasies.

      • Jarredsgirl says:

        LOL NN You said it yourself – “And I don’t see how that is something to be jealous about, in fact I find it strange” If you find your own explanation for the behaviour of some commentors here strange, maybe come up with a new explanation???

        It’s not jealousy. Nobody is jealous of someone trying to get their wife back – is that an enviable position to be in? I don’t think so, at all … LOL .

        Shocking… Twitter has restored my faith in humanity!

    • TrustMOnThis says:

      I suggest you check out previous stories on Mr Thicke before you spend too much time feeling sorry for him. There are reasons why he’s got all this coming to him.

    • Godwina says:

      Wow.

    • Dee says:

      After people harping on me to watch the Husbands of Hollywood show I finally gave in and watch it when it became available on Netflix. I have to say that Robin’s character is the only one that didn’t feel out of character. I don’t know him but it came across as if he was just playing himself. I don’t hate him though I don’t like his music but his braggadocio makes him very unlikable.

  13. Mia4S says:

    Hopefully counting down his 15 minutes…14…13…

    In all honesty Blurred Lines didn’t bother me. I got what the song was meant to be (had a good beat stolen from Marvin Gay *cough*) and frankly when so many songs are blatantly sexist and misogynist (see: half of popular music) it was a shrug for me. And then? His behaviour and persona makes him saying “hi” seem skevey. He’s awful.

    • Lady Macbeth (ex HiddlesF) says:

      I listened to it once and it was enough. And it was not a sexist song, it is a hymn to rape culture. Which is quite awful, in my opinion.

      Karma works, for Thicke too he he

      • Dee says:

        Every time I go somewhere and I hear that song playing it reminds of the Family Guy (or American Dad) episode where Sean Connery as James Bond says he wants to sleep with a woman and she say “no” like 9 times while he keeps harping on her until she gives him. He then looks to the screen and says something like “9 nos and 1 yes is still a yes gentleman.” I no they’re making fun of the fact that no woman ever seems to say to Bond but that’s what it reminds me of…

  14. shannon says:

    #delusional is right, but I have a suspicion that she’ll take him back. Maybe not tomorrow or next year, but someday.

    • Sarah123 says:

      Given how similar your statement is to the last lines of “Casablanca”, let’s hope she watches that movie and realizes that if she does go back to him, she’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of their lives.

      Here’s looking at you, kid.

  15. QQ says:

    Someone asked him If his hair was slicked back from his own natural greasiness

    And if he wears a girdle

    And if the hoes were worth it

    And if he was happy using cheating on his wife to sell records

    ROTFLMMFAO what a Glorious Flameout

  16. Sam says:

    Next up they need a #DontlistenPaula tag. I can’t imagine how embarassing it must be for your husband (and your kid’s father) to be basically prostrating himself in public for you. Frankly, I might consider taking him back just to make him freaking STOP. Hold strong, Paula!

  17. ReturnoftheMac says:

    YES!!! This made my YEAR yesterday! I love that he’s getting called out! Also, who on earth thought this would be a good idea? Apparently he was scheduled for a Reddit AMA but they canceled at the last minute last week. Did he really think the masses would be easier?! SMH

    • Snazzy says:

      Ok this has nothing to do with anything but I love the fact that your name is “returnoftheMac” that song is totally stuck in my head now!

  18. Ag says:

    if i were him, i would crawl back into the hole i came from and stayed there for a while.

  19. AlmondJoy says:

    😂😂😂😂 How embarassing!! This was bound to happen though. These ask celeb things never work out well. The result of R.Kelly’s was even worse!

  20. Addison DeWitt says:

    I kind of hope this whole estranged wife thing is for publicity, because his image did a sudden 360 and he looks kind of pathetic. Like when Tiger Woods got caught. If it’s real and he’s going through remorse, this seems like the wrong way to handle it.

  21. Faye says:

    That is poetry, right there. No joke.

  22. Faye says:

    He has the worst PR people. How could anybody thing this was a good idea? Come to think of it, how could his label think the album itself was a good idea? Yeesh. Has the industry learned nothing from Tom Cruise jumping on the couch! When you show yourself to be nutty or in Thicke’s case just unbearably sleazy, you apologize and then you go.away.

    • FingerBinger says:

      What would Robin be apologizing for? I guess he should apologize to his wife,but not us. He’s guilty of being a jerk that’s about it.

      • Faye says:

        My post was misleading -I meant he should apologize to her and then disappear from the public view.

  23. lw says:

    Here’s the deal. We all know Robin has an obsession with Marvin Gaye. I think this album is his attempt to make a classic like Marvin’s “Here My Dear”. It was written for his ex-wife, who was the daughter of Motown’s Berry Gordy. Marvin owed one more record on his contract when he was divorcing Anna, and made the entire album about the end of their relationship and divorce. If you have never heard it, check it out. It is Marvin at his absolute most fantastic.
    But… Robin is certainly no Marvin Gaye, no matter how many of his songs he rips off.

    • PunkyMomma says:

      ^This. Marvin Gaye was a genius. Robin Thicke is a poser.

      Glad the Twitterverse handed him his a**.

      • Kiddo says:

        Marvin Gaye was super sexy/good-looking too. It’s too bad the way it all ended.

    • Nigel says:

      Marvin had plenty of issues but was loaded with talent, Robin Thicke…meh. I’ll stick with my Marvin cds

  24. db says:

    Those tweets made my morning lol

  25. Selina says:

    His voice is still great–I enjoyed that BET performance way more than I thought I would.

    He really looks awful now and as someone who has felt great heartache I feel for him.

    • doofus says:

      do you feel for Paula, too?

      • Selina says:

        That goes without saying for me and how I view and have experienced relationships. I know what it’s like to be the one who was forced to end it and also the one who wanted to get the person back, regretting my choices.

      • Brittney B says:

        @ Selina

        But do you know what it’s like to use emotional manipulation and public humiliation to “win” someone back?

        She’s not a possession, and this is not how you atone for your mistakes. That video was downright frightening. Even if his threats are empty, he’s setting an example for his (few remaining) fans. He’s telling women ONCE AGAIN that if a man wants to be with you, you can either say “yes” or endure persistent, relentless attempts to make you do it anyway.

      • doofus says:

        selina, glad to hear it.

        your post was unclear, that’s all.

      • Selina says:

        @Brittney

        I definitely don’t see this as a stalkerish creepy thing when he’s legally still your husband and father of your child. I think he’s just not throwing his hands up in defeat and this is a clumsy, embarrassing attempt to do the gallant grand romantic gesture so popularized by the rom-com Hollywood world they both inhabit.

        I also think he’s lost and grasping at using music to rekindle their romance because that’s how it started: his serenading her no doubt and her starring in his music videos, obviously his muse.

  26. Adrien says:

    The tweets were hilarious. I read the hashtag just today and people are still trolling. There’s one: “If you’re going to die tomorrow, why not today?”. Even the gardening questions were hilarious.

  27. Green Is Good says:

    Sanna wins! Lol!

  28. Lucy says:

    Ah, this was so, so wonderful. And so embarrassing.

    • Cheryl says:

      Glad I clicked on this. wasn’t going too…ew…but people’s responses are hilarious.

  29. I Choose Me says:

    Those tweets are awesome. 😀

  30. Mesia says:

    Haha I hope he answers them.

  31. Ag says:

    OMG, i could read these for DAYS. must…work…

    Josephine Liptrott @JoLiptrott
    #AskThicke When you’re not busy objectifying women, making light of rape and justifying sexual violence, how do you like to relax?

    Nathan O’Hagan ‏@NathanOHagan
    When your master Satan calls upon you, does he take on a tangible flesh form or is it more like a malevolent mist? #AskThicke

    Ariel Kashanchi ‏@IranianMermaid
    Besides rapey thoughts and general misogyny, what inspires you? #AskThicke

    Martin Shaw ‏@BhunaBhuna
    #askthicke Now that you’ve made it commercially viable to be a creepingly insidious, misogynistic sexual predator; What’s next for you?

    Josh William Evans ‏@JoshEvans
    “What if I did an #AskThicke hashtag on twitter?” “Robin that’s a terrible idea. No don’t do it.” “I’m hearing yes.” “No.” “Yes.”

  32. TheCountess says:

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

    *catches breath, re-reads story*

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

  33. I Choose Me says:

    Oh my the shade. It is glorious. LMAO.

  34. Green Is Good says:

    This story is winning! I may join twitter just to read the rest of the comments.

    • Ag says:

      you know, i begrudgingly joined it after the shootings at the DC Navy Yard, just so that i could be informed quickly if anything was going on (Twitter is WAY faster than the “traditional” news sources), and use it rarely, but moments like this really make me glad that i’m on it. 🙂

  35. M says:

    Trust me, there were some worse ones on that askthicke feed, hilarious. I am tired of him been for a while.

  36. Izzy says:

    This has just made my whole week.

  37. Godwina says:

    That second one is GOLD.

  38. WendyNerd says:

    This is excellent.

    He traded on his “happily married to his high school sweetheart” thing for so long to mask the grossness of his public persona once he got big. “Oh, I can’t be reinforcing rape culture and predatory attitudes towards women, I’ve been happily married for fifteen years! I’m sensitive!” Even though she wasn’t as big as he was, he used her for PR every chance he got. Now it’s blowing up in his face and it’s glorious.

    You know, as ugly as the internet can get, (especially in terms of gender politics) one thing I do appreciate is there has been a stimulation of discussion surrounding this sort of “nice guy”/”romantic” BS. I’ve seen people get called out for that sort of mindset a lot more in recent years. This is a perfect example of that.

  39. Mrs McCubbins says:

    Ick! Looking at him makes me want to take a shower to clean off his sleaziness.

  40. kibbles says:

    There are more good ones here: http://www.alternet.org/culture/robin-thickes-epic-pr-disaster

    On a scale of R. Kelly to Phil Spector, how do you intend to “Get Her Back?” #AskThicke

    #AskThicke It might seem like some of the questions on this hashtag are cruel and abusive but Robin, I know you want it

    Is your next ‘hit’ just a lyric sheet, with a Rohypnol Sellotaped to it? #AskThicke

    #AskThicke Did you really write a rape anthem as a love song for your wife and are you still wondering why she left you?

    What form of sexual or emotional abuse will you be normalising in your next jaunty hit? #AskThicke

    #AskThicke Why do you have the stance of a Ken Doll?

    #AskThicke Once you’ve cracked ‘hug me’, any thoughts on what rhymes with ‘misogynistic douchebag’?

  41. vv007 says:

    This is the greatest thing on the internet right now. LOL

    #AskThicke It might seem like some of the questions on this hashtag are cruel and abusive but Robin, I know you want it <—- hahahahaha

  42. caz says:

    Hilarious. #thickehead

    I love that the majority of people these days call bs on these dubious pr campaigns.

  43. Jess says:

    I wanted to cackle so bad when reading these but my daughter is still asleep, so freaking funny!! Perfect.

  44. aenflex says:

    Those topless models in his video were PAID, and they personally made the CHOICE to appear topless for that paycheck. They weren’t trafficked or forced into it. Pharrel half wrote that song, and also starred in the video, where’s the hate on him for that?

    Thicke is douchebag, but not because of the video. I hope Paula is happy and feels good, regardless of whatever choice she makes.