Irresponsible Rumormongering: Amy Sacco Stiffing Nadine Johnson?

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Emily Gould

12/12/06 08:50AM

Filed to: Amy Sacco

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Remember when we gently ribbed Bung 8 owner Amy Sacco for ranting to New York about how "cash is king, and I'm an ATM machine. Amy takes money. I've done enough charity. I've supported. I need to get off the broom and on the G5"? We didn't know quite what she was getting at then, but a juicy little missive in the tipline this morning has cleared things up a bit:

Word is that Amy Sacco hasn't been paying her PR bills, for the last six months or so. Not because she can't afford them, but because she knows that Nadine Johnson can't afford to lose her. NJ's been losing her girls to new agencies such as Syndicate PR. Apparently, she's worried that, if she just stops working for Sacco, the nightlife queen would just switch to one of her rivals, who'd also work for her for free. And Sacco's circle would move with her.

All the usual caveats about how this is probably totally false, of course, apply. And if you'd like to confirm/deny, well, you know where to do it. Maybe once we've gotten that straightened out we can clear up our confusion about the broom, but we're not getting our hopes up.

Earlier: What is Amy Sacco Trying to Tell Us??

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

astralgirl01 Emily Gould 12/12/06 12:42PM

It's well-known that Nadine Johnson hen-pecks to the extreme and runs thru her Harpers Bazaar-esque blonde (not Vogue/A-list caliber, please note) PR girls like Kleenex.

(and wtf is up with her only hiring British girls at one point? And why do they all end up becoming arm pieces for rich douchey guys? So odd. Is she pimping out her employees like another well-known PR maven? Shhhh.....)

So I wouldn't doubt that Syndicate grabs up a bunch of Nadine's leftovers. Syndicate tend to throw B-trying-to-be-A-list parties anyway (except that grabbing the Grammercy Park Hotel as a client is a huge coup), so I'd be kind of surprised if Amy Sacco ditches Nadine anytime soon.

astralgirl01 Emily Gould 12/12/06 02:25PM

TT: Soooo not saying Nadine is A-list. But I think she has an appeal to quasi-socialites and new money A-list wannabes that is undeniable. And sadly, a lot of clients and companies will pay her rates for that (oh, and for the guaranteed Page Six placement as well....)

Nadine is an interesting case, tho— she gets A-list clients/events/launches (Andre B/Stella McC/Alexander McQ) but then she annoys the eff out the client so much with her demands (more money for budget, insane last-second additions to guestlists, and more hilariously, handing in her office-based expense reports that are higher than the GNP of most developing nations... like, it really cost you $5K for photocopies?), it usually ends up being a one-time deal.

I used to work for a company that used NJPR for press and her "guestlist" services, so I do not doubt her A-list pull potential. She was able to materialize a number of amazing celebs that even made me go "damn, this bitch ain't playing!"

But overall, I wan't impressed. The company I worked for ended up letting Nadine go and paying me to do their press on the side (while keeping her contact list) ;)

lovelyday Emily Gould 12/12/06 10:14AM

I believe she could have forgotten to pay her bils, but I am sure that Nadine and her other clients have been compted for drinks/food and has been a HUGE benficiary of Saccos clubs and restaurants. Not all that uncommon actually. Nadine is a bit, uhm, how do you say nicely...old. PR is fickle and I am sure the young girls out there working the scene are a threat to Nadine's (and everyone else who works in PR) business.

Bartender Emily Gould 12/12/06 09:22AM

Nadine Johnson "can't afford" to lose Sacco? Come on. Johnson has PLENTY of high-end clients. From what I've heard, she's actually sick of the "nightlife" shit. She's all about the BIG corporate money now.

And Bette isn't exactly raking in the bucks these days, you know. They closed a lot of "shifts" and canned a lot of staffers.

So, I call "Bullshit".

Oh, wow. Nightlife... Sacco... Bullshit?? I must be crazy or something.