The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson
Cornell 7: Every Statement Made It Worse but One
People are calling it the Cornell 7 case. In twelve days, Cornell, the Tompkins County district attorney, the mayor of Ithaca and Governor Kathy Hochul all put out statements about the same night in 2024. A former student, identified only as Jane Doe, has filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was drugged and sexually assaulted at a fraternity house. No one has been charged. Molly McPherson reads the statements one at a time and names the move in each. Cornell's first statement says federal privacy law stops it from saying more. Molly looks up the law. Since 1998, FERPA has allowed a college to release the name, violation and sanction of a student found responsible for sexual assault, and Cornell chose not to. Cornell's second statement calls the criticism of its punishments irresponsible and says it will make survivors feel less safe. Molly calls that the blame flip, and asks the women who write these statements whether they could put their name on that line. She also takes apart a defense lawyer's hair follicle test, the DA's complaint about the calls to his office, the mayor's moratorium and the Hochul statement that hit every note. She runs all of them through the same test. Own it, explain it, promise it. She opens with why this one is personal. A professional crisis has a personal crisis baked into it, and the moves people use in statements are the moves they use in life. Molly is a crisis communication and reputation management consultant, APR, and the host of The PR Breakdown. This episode was recorded live. 00:00 A personal crisis inside a professional one 01:51 What a move is 04:38 Guardrails, and what is only alleged 07:27 Cornell's first statement 08:53 The privacy shield 09:52 FERPA and the 1998 rule 12:32 Cornell won't, we will 13:09 Cornell's second statement 15:33 People don't like truth tellers 16:54 The blame flip 17:42 The New York Post headline 20:08 Own it, explain it, promise it 20:22 The defense lawyer's details 22:56 The hair follicle test 24:23 What would you do, Conor? 25:19 "A money grab" 26:27 Blame the victim 28:22 The DA's statement 29:34 The wah excuse 31:09 Apologize to your staff 31:48 Publishing her sworn statement 33:31 Nine pages to prove he was right 34:18 The statement I would have written 35:06 The mayor of Ithaca 37:26 Governor Kathy Hochul 37:53 Cornell's letter, finally signed 39:10 The only line that matters 39:28 What changed 40:36 Emotion and empathy 41:59 Closing Every week I break down the biggest PR crises in the news: the slips, the moves, the scandals, and the lessons behind the headlines. I'm Molly McPherson, crisis and reputation strategist, known to my audience as the PR Lady. This channel is home base for the podcast and my weekly Substack live chats. Subscribe and follow along. Stay Connected Weekly Substack Lives and Newsletter [https://mollymcpherson.substack.com/] Speaking Inquiries [https://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/molly-mcpherson/] ️ THE PR BREAKDOWN PODCAST [https://www.prbreakdownpodcast.com/] ️ Apple Podcasts: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pr-breakdown-with-molly-mcpherson/id1441897190] ️ Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/53jOIfJuu00dsZhQMgI1Id?si=a0152e4ce81b4725] MOLLY ON SOCIAL TikTok: [https://www.tiktok.com/@mollybmcpherson] Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/molly.mcpherson/] Substack: [https://substack.com/@mollymcpherson?utm_source=user-menu] ⚖️ DISCLAIMER This video is for educational and commentary purposes only. Some links may be affiliate links. Sponsorships are always disclosed in-video. Videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise stated. Copyright © 2026 Molly McPherson. All rights reserved.
