Parkland PR consultant calls critics “crazies” and a journalist “skanky” and smelly in video

A public relations consultant from the district where the Parkland massacre occurred called critics of its policies “crazies” and roasted an unnamed “nasty, skanky” reporter for smelling bad in a video taken during a public-speaking engagement.

The Broward County School District hired the consultant, Sara Brady, to assist the district after a shooter killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February, according to the Sun Sentinel. She appeared at a conference in July to speak to school communications professionals about how to handle a media crisis. But her comments went beyond what most would consider professional.

“He is sloppy, he’s reckless, he’s mean, and he smells bad,” Brady said in the video, which surfaced Monday, about the unnamed journalist. “The questions that he sends are just plain not legitimate.” Later, she also referred to the journalist as “that nasty, skanky reporter.”

By Tuesday, however, Brady had already apologized.

“I probably went a little overboard in my comments about the reporter,” she told the Sun Sentinel. “It’s just kind of shop talk. I acknowledge that.”

Brady also said a twitter-storm erupted when the district announced that its controversial PROMISE Program, which protects students who commit minor crimes from going to jail, had nothing to do with why the shooting happened.

“And sure enough, all the crazies kind of came out,” Brady said in the video. “The district knows who the crazies are and who the opposition is, and so certainly they seized on it and started putting stuff out there.”

Hunter Pollack, a critic of the program and the brother of one of the victims, took offense to her remarks.

“Our leaders don’t care about Parkland families,” Pollack wrote in a viral tweet. “Broward’s Superintendent and his PR person called grieving families “crazies”, “the opposition”, and call hardworking reporters “skanks” for exposing the truth. Retweet and expose them all!”

But Brady apologized for those remarks, too, this time, directly to Pollack on Twitter.

“My comments about ‘crazies’ were part of an overall presentation for communication practitioners and were in reference to the anonymous trolls and bots who seemingly always appear after these hideous tragedies,” she tweeted.

“Never would I refer to victim’s families in such a way,” she continued. “We grieve with the families who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy.”

In a statement provided to VICE News, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said that Brady's comments about the journalist were "inappropriate, hurtful, and in no way represents the views and values of the leadership." But he softened his position regarding her classification of the district's critics as "crazies."

"My family and I have received nasty, racist, and hateful messages, phone calls, and threats concerning this event and particularly around the misunderstood PROMISE program," Runcie said. "My daughters have received jarring and upsetting hate mail and threats at work and school. Her comments were a reaction to this situation."

Update: 12/5 10:24 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie.

Cover image: In this Feb. 15, 2018, file photo, law enforcement officers block off the entrance to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., following a deadly shooting at the school. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)