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| Keshia Walker with Major League Players |
‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’: Marketing Guru Says Anthony was Wrong in Tirade Against Sheree
Keshia
Walker of Insights Marketing says event planner Anthony Shorter was
wrong in the famous expletive-laced tirade with Sheree Whitfield during
the season two premiere of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta.” And worse,
Walker says, Shorter never paid the vendors who worked the party that
went on despite Sheree’s absence.
Walker
said Shorter over-promised and under-delivered for Sheree’s divorce
party — which caused Sheree to question Shorter’s competence. Concerns
over the progress of the event prompted Bravo TV to bring Walker on
board. “I was brought in to fill in the gaps and address some of the
issues and concerns that Sheree had of Anthony’s production of the
event, to make [Sheree] more comfortable with proceeding,” she says.
Walker
says Shorter didn’t invite her to the infamous meeting with Sheree. And
now Walker is glad she wasn’t present to be stained by all the
mudslinging. As was shown at the end of the opening episode, the
meeting quickly degenerated into a high-decibel, spit-spewing,
finger-pointing verbal brawl.
“I was
not even in the building when that meeting took place … and Sheree was
furious. She was not going to attend the party on the upcoming
Saturday. She didn’t want to have any dealing with Anthony. She felt
threatened both professionally and physically,” Walker says.
Walker
says she had never heard of Shorter before and hopes to never have his
name roll off her tongue again. “I will never work with Anthony Shorter
again,” she says. “He still owes vendors money from the event we
executed four days later [after the Anthony-Sheree tirade]. Even though
Sheree wasn’t able to attend, I had sponsors involved and we still went
on with the event. He didn’t pay our sound company or the DJ that we
used for the event. And he still hasn’t paid them to this day. There
are other vendors who are calling our office trying to find him to get
payment.”
Walker says in order to avoid
hiring an incompetent event planner or promoter, you should, “follow up
and check references on the event planner from both clients as well as
venues. Actually speak to individuals who have worked with the client
as well as the venue that the person had to use to put on the event.” –terry shropshire
