Sophie Turner is winning the public-relations battle in her high-profile divorce from Joe Jonas, according to an expert.
The Game of Thrones star and her musician husband announced they were breaking up after Jonas filed for divorce on September 1. Fans have accused the singer of carrying out a smear campaign against Turner.
Early reports said that Jonas wanted to divorce because of Turner’s partying ways and that he had to look after their two children for a few weeks while she filmed a TV show. Newsweek has been unable to verify the first claim.
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But Jonas’ alleged tactics have backfired as Turner has remained silent. She is now suing him for the “wrongful retention” of their children, Willa, 3, and D.J., 1.
Newsweek contacted Turner and Jonas through their representative by email for comment.
PR guru Molly McPherson previously told Newsweek that Turner should “hold her head high as she co-parents in the limelight,” and it turns out that is exactly what the actress is doing. Other than filing the lawsuit and the Instagram announcement of their divorce, Turner has hardly been heard from, other than to have a much-publicized dinner with Jonas’ ex Taylor Swift.
“Sophie Turner has the upper hand because she chose to stay silent,” McPherson said in a recent TikTok, adding, “silence doesn’t mean that you don’t communicate.”
“Silence is just one of the means of communication, but I find it to be one of the most powerful,” McPherson added.
“Sophie Turner’s going through Joe Jonas team’s ‘allegedly’ enacted smear campaign for months… they wanted to quiet[en] her by telling the story that he’s a great dad [and] the reason why the marriage is failing is because of her.”
McPherson said that “PR spin backfired” and, by saying less, Turner has given the impression that she is in control of the narrative. The PR expert said this has given the actress more power when she chooses to speak.
“Part of the reason why Joe Jonas lost this whole PR battle, is because even if people didn’t realize it was PR spin, they could sense it’s not coming from Joe,” McPherson added.
The expert told her followers that the New York dinner with Swift was likely a PR move but was made more powerful because Turner filed her lawsuit the following day.
“Sometimes, the most powerful voice in the room is the silent voice,” McPherson concluded.
Turner and Jonas married in 2019 after three years of dating.
In her lawsuit, Turner said the couple had decided to make her native England their forever home. She added that Jonas was looking after their kids for a few weeks while on tour with his band The Jonas Brothers in the U.S. The reasoning behind that, Turner added, was because she was filming intense scenes for the drama Joan in the U.K. and he was free during the days to spend time with the girls.
The papers filed to the Southern District in New York said the breakdown of the marriage happened very suddenly. Jonas refused to hand over the children’s passports so Turner could return with them to England. However, the singer refuted that claim.
“Joe and Sophie had a cordial meeting this past Sunday in New York, when Sophie came to New York to be with the kids. They have been with her since that meeting,” CNN quoted a representative for Jonas as saying in a statement. “Joe’s impression of the meeting was that they had reached an understanding that they would work together towards an amicable co-parenting setup.
“His wish is that Sophie reconsider her harsh legal position and move forward in a more constructive and private manner. His only concern is the well-being of his children,” the statement added.