Despite reports that White House dinner crashers and reality wannabes Tareq and Michaele Salahi are shopping for paid network appearances, their representative says it’s just not true. Speaking for the Salahis, Mahogany Jones told Yeas & Nays the couple denied any rumors of peddling interviews and demanding compensation.
“We are not making any formal comments or arrangement with any media at this time,” Jones said in an e-mail.
CNN confirmed the couple postponed their appearance on “Larry King Live,” originally scheduled for Monday, without giving the network a new date and time. A representative said CNN did not pay for interviews.
Yeas & Nays asked crisis guru Jason Miller of Dezenhall Resources how he thought the Salahis’ alleged media manipulation would pan out.
“That largely depends on whether or not the Salahis have something interesting to say,” Miller said. “People are interested in finding out what happened to Tiger Woods this weekend, but I don’t think anybody cares about the back story of these polo-playing poseurs and their quest for 15 minutes of fame — they’re boring people.”
Though Miller did acknowledge that if Washington’s version of Speidi (the media moniker for reality television stars Spencer Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag) got picked up by Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of D.C.,” it would be a win for them.
“Then again, I never would have thought that a sex tape would make Kim Kardashian a national celebrity, so who knows what will happen here?” Miller added.
