How the magazine In Touch is detrimental to co-worker relationships

In a working environment, people are often encouraged to support their co-workers and are reminded that all of their co-workers are part of their team.

With a few exceptions, this applies in just about any work environment. Take movies, for example. Whether you're the highly-paid star, the director, or the key grip, the movie studio would like all of you to be on the same page, and to do everything in your power to make sure that the movie studio makes the maximum amount of money on the picture.

Often, there are publicity avenues that can be used to make sure that this happens. But these publicity avenues would prefer to get a good story when possible.

Case in point (H/T Inquisitr): In Touch got a story via a sound bite from Reese Witherspoon, who co-stars with Robert Pattinson in some movie or another. (Actually, the movie is Water for Elephants, and I'm sure it's wonderful. But you'd better ask Jandy Stone, because I'm not a movie guy.)

So what did Reese say about her co-star?

Rob possibly had the most hideous horrible cold of any co-star I’ve ever had to do a love scene with ever in my entire life....He was literally snorting and snotting through every second of it – and it was not appealing....I’m talking green, infectious, disgusting – I’m not kidding!

I’m going to say it’s a little bit of a downer. I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t sexy.

Now Witherspoon's been around for a while, so she should have realized that In Touch would take her quote and run with it. And run they did, with the headline "Reese Witherspoon Hated Love Scenes with Robert Pattinson!"

A few days later, In Touch ran a new item entitled "Reese Witherspoon 'Waiting' on Wedding Gift from Robert Pattinson." In Touch chose to use that little tidbit as the headline, rather than Witherspoon's statement "Not only is he super- sexy and sweet and handsome, he’s a really lovely and nice person."

Well, except when he's working his way through a cold, I guess.

The lifestyles of the rich and famous can be applied to our own business lives. Sometimes our co-workers aren't our best, for whatever reason. It is to our benefit to keep those little issues to ourselves and not blab them to the world. In Touch isn't standing outside my cubicle at work, but other people at work are, and if I say the wrong thing to the wrong person, co-working relationships could potentially be damaged.