Chapter 257: Smear Campaign

Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Smear Campaign

Irene sighed helplessly upon hearing this. She was no newcomer to Hollywood and had seen plenty of such rumors.

It seemed someone, seeing her career going smoothly lately, was deliberately exaggerating and smearing her to trip her up.

"I understand, Shelly. You don’t need to worry too much. I truly didn’t say anything to disparage Director Ridley or the project. I simply gave Rachel some advice on the risks. A clear conscience fears no false accusations."

"But public opinion is very unfavorable to you right now!" Shelly was still worried.

"Director Ridley’s team has already sent an inquiry, and many in the industry are waiting to see what happens. If this isn’t handled well, it will affect your future resources."

"Don’t worry," Irene said with a certain tone. "Actually, have the PR team use my Facebook account to respond normally. No need for deliberate explanations.

Just say that Rachel and I were having a private discussion about film selection advice, with no malice intended, and that I’ve never questioned Director Ridley’s professional ability.

As for those smears, there’s no need to take them to heart. If it really can’t be cleared up, just treat it as publicity for my social media platform. It might even attract more attention."

She had long since seen through the vanity of the industry. Rather than being anxious over groundless rumors, it was better to settle down and focus on her own work.

"Go check which people from Fox came to the party yesterday. There were two producers sitting near me when I was chatting with Rachel, but I couldn’t recall their names."

After hanging up, Irene stood up and pulled back the curtains. The piercing sunlight spilled onto her face, but she faced the light calmly, her eyes clear.

She went to the walk-in closet and changed into a set of comfortable loungewear before dialing the butler’s number. "Help me buy a copy of all the mainstream Hollywood newspapers today. I want to see how many tricks they can come up with."

Hanging up, Irene sat down on the living room sofa and casually turned on the television.

Before long, the butler handed over a stack of newspapers.

Irene calmly flipped open the one on top. The front-page headline was particularly striking: ’Arrogant Irene Interferes in Casting, Advises Rachel to Reject Ridley’s New Work,’ accompanied by a photo of her at the party last night.

She hadn’t invited any media last night. How on earth did these photos get out?

She patiently flipped through the rest. The reports in other newspapers were much the same—nothing more than taking things out of context and exaggeration. Some media had even dug up snippets of her early interviews, trying to piece together an image of her being ’arrogant.’

Irene closed the newspaper and set it aside, her face remaining unruffled.

Just then, a slight noise came from the room. Britney, wearing a silk nightgown and rubbing her eyes, walked out with a look of post-sleep confusion. "Irene, why are you up so early? I thought I heard you on the phone just now..."

She walked over to Irene’s side, and seeing the newspapers and headlines scattered on the coffee table, the confusion on her face instantly turned to astonishment. "Wow, what’s going on? How can they write about you like this!"

Britney leaned over and picked up a newspaper, her fingertips brushing over the sensational headlines, her brow furrowing into a knot. Her tone was full of indignation. "These media outlets are too much! What ’malicious obstruction’ and ’open provocation’? Have they never heard the words ’giving a friend advice’?"

Seeing Britney’s indignant look, Irene couldn’t help but smile. "That’s the media for you. They’ll make up anything for sales. They don’t care about the truth. As long as there’s a topic and traffic, that’s enough."

"But they can’t just flip black and white like this!" Britney threw the newspaper back onto the coffee table and sat down beside Irene.

"Do these people have nothing better to do than stare at others’ private conversations and wag their tongues?" She grew angrier as she spoke.

"And that person who leaked the news is just classless! Even a private chat can be spread around. Who’s going to dare speak at a party anymore?"

Irene patted the back of her hand, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. "Don’t be angry. Since this has happened, we’ll eventually find out who’s behind it." She remembered that while chatting with Rachel last night, two Fox producers had been sitting not far away. At the time, the two of them had been glancing over frequently and whispering something, though she hadn’t taken it to heart then.

"When Shelly called just now, I already had him investigate. The focus is on those two Fox producers who were sitting near us last night. They were the closest and most likely to have overheard our conversation."

Britney’s eyes lit up. "Right! It must be them! I remember those two. Dressed up like gentlemen but with shifty eyes—you could tell they weren’t good people at first glance!" She leaned closer to Irene, her tone certain. "Have Shelly check quickly. Once they’re found, you must teach them a good lesson so they know the consequences of loose talk!"

Irene nodded with a smile. "Don’t worry, Shelly has a wide network in the industry. He’ll get results quickly by asking around with some familiar journalists." She picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip, her tone indifferent.

"But there’s no need to take it too seriously. People like that just want to use me to grab attention, or they’ve taken someone else’s benefits to deliberately trip me up."

The two of them chatted for a while longer about their upcoming schedules. Britney continued to vent about the unscrupulous media while Irene chimed in occasionally.

By the time they finished lunch in the afternoon, Shelly’s phone call came through again, this time with a bit more certainty in his voice.

"Irene, I found out! It was indeed those two Fox producers who leaked the news. They deliberately sat near you last night, eavesdropped on your conversation, and then added some spice to it before selling it to the media."

"I knew it was them." Irene’s tone was calm, without the slightest hint of surprise. "Why did they do it? Just to cause trouble?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"No," Shelly’s voice turned somber. "I did some digging through a journalist friend. There’s someone behind this—Mel Gibson."

"Mel Gibson?" Irene was stunned for a moment, then a speechless smile curled her lips. "What’s he doing joining the fray? I don’t think I’ve ever had any grievances with him."

Shelly explained, "How can you say there’s no grievance? Have you forgotten when Mean Girls and The Patriot went head-to-head? He was also exposed for being a racist and has been holding a grudge against you ever since."

After hearing this, Irene couldn’t help but roll her eyes, her tone full of mockery.

"I thought it was something major, but it’s just because of that? Mel Gibson is so petty. Just because his movie lost to mine when they were released at the same time, he’s held a grudge until now? There are so many movies released at the same time every year. If everyone were as vengeful as him, how would anyone get through the day?" She truly hadn’t expected that a director with a decent standing in Hollywood would resort to such underhanded tactics against a peer.