Darryl Willis, The New Face Of BP In The Gulf, Explains Victim Claims Process

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by Frances Martel | 10:24 pm, June 22nd, 2010

» 5 comments

Darryl Willis is the Vice President of resources at BP America. More recently, he became the face of the corporation as advertisements featuring CEO Tony Hayward failed to connect for some reason. Willis visited The Situation Room today to explain further his role in the company, and how victims of the oil disaster can claim some of the $20 billion the company has set aside for those most affected.

Clad in the same bright orange uniform he wears in the BP ad, Willis explained that the money will soon be put into the hands of an independent commission run by “Pay Czar” Kenneth Feinberg, with which, Willis asserts, the company has a good relationship. A question repeatedly put to him by host Wolf Blitzer involved the possibility of victims who take the money having their hands tied legally, but Willis assured Blitzer that “anyone who files a claim through the process can always retain the right to file a lawsuit.”

For the most part, Willis stuck to the company language– “we’ve got the money;” “we’re going to pay the claims that are substantiated;” “we’re going to do it until every drop of oil is cleaned up”– but, as a native Louisianan who claims in his new ad to have volunteered to be put in the forefront of the effort because of his relationship to the Gulf, he comes off as much more genuine than most of the faces that have come forward for the company, not the least of which is the sailboat CEO. It sounds like a paradox two months into this disaster, but putting trading Hayward for Willis as American spokesman seems to have been a good PR move by BP.

Below is Willis’ chat with Wolf Blitzer today, and, below that, his appearance in the new BP spot:

Advertising, BP, BP Oil Disaster, CNN, Darryl Willis, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf oil, Ken Feinberg, Wolf Blitzer

sarainitaly

They probably figure no one will bother him, since, you know, questioning or criticizing an African American leader has been deemed racist the past couple of years.

“anyone who files a claim through the process can always retain the right to file a lawsuit.” – I heard something about this late last night that that actually might not be the case?
Integr8d

“Damnit, we have an uncontrollable PR fiasco. Someone grab the black guy!”

“Thank God those liberals set the stage for this. Otherwise, we might have to ask the media to play more oil spill footage to distract the public. Oh wait a minute, we caused that. Okay, not so much with the oil spill footage. Make sure this guy is reeeeaaally black. It might even score us some point with the Pres.”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kenneth-Holmes/1009658459 Kenneth Holmes

It is important to have ‘the face of BP” be someone of good character and have the best interest of the people in the Gulf at heart, and that is Darryl Willis. I know him personally and know that he will do what he can to encourage BP to do the right thing, and it has nothing to do with his ethnicity, or the color of his skin (at least it shouldn’t).
http://none pyrope

Hell Intergr8d, I don’t think he’s black enough, but the REAL question ought to be is will we ever see where the -0bama shakedown money went. My guess is that it will go to whatever acorn evolved into.
http://www.libertarianism.com/ Burnnotice

Time to seize all of BPs assets. Its pretty clear now they have let this thing get way out of hand….. http://seizebp.org/