THANKS to the topsy-turvy world of reality TV, now even power publicist Lizzie Grubman has a publicist to help promote her new MTV show, “PoweR Girls.”
The series follows Grubman and four of the youngest PR babes working at her agency, Lizzie Grubman Public Relations, as they negotiate the rocky and frequently less-than-glamorous waters of the entertainment industry.
“You see the dynamics of these girls’ personal lives, how frustrating it is to have real, high-pressure jobs and to be put to the test at such a young age,” Grubman said yesterday in a hastily scheduled chat that actually needed to be arranged through the show’s MTV publicist.
The show, which was filmed last spring and summer, debuts March 10 and will take viewers behind the scenes at star-studded events and functions for Grubman’s clients – who include artists like Ja Rule and Jay Z and corporations like MGM Grand and Sony.
“I give them the opportunity to work really hard at a really young age,” says Grubman of the young publicists on which the show focuses: Kelly Brady, Rachel Krupa, Ali Zweben and Millie Monyo.
All four are between the ages of 23 and 25 and have diverse backgrounds, ranging from an Ivy Leaguer to a free-spirited California girl.
All four worked for Grubman for at least a year or two before filming on the show started.
“There’s going to be a big misconception out there that these girls were cast for the show, and they clearly weren’t,” she says.
Grubman, who had no control over the finished product, is featured throughout the series and says she’s more of an older sister to the girls than a slave-driving boss. She also says she’s nervous now that the series is about to debut.
“My feeling is that you’re not going to learn anything if you’re micromanaged, so I let these girls run the events,” she says. “I watch everything to make sure they’re doing everything right, and obviously if they’re potentially going to mess up, I’m there to save the day.
“I really think that it’s a young [version of] ‘Sex and the City,’ ” says Grubman. “All these girls in America are going to be able to relate to one of my girls – there’s somebody for everybody.”
