Nonnie, IMO, I don’t think this about lying or truth or what message S/C are trying to send, this is work. 100% business. It’s hard to wrap our heads around the Hollywood lifestyle or culture, it is so foreign to us not in the industry. When it comes to S/C, most tend to react emotionally to what is just plain ole business.
They are both under contract to do, say and behave as they are instructed. They are selling a product, an image, it’s not personal, it’s work. It’s what they get paid to do. You can’t take it personally, work and their personal lives are two different things, put into two different boxes. Departmentalising is not an easy thing to do, but if you can do it, this whole thing is not so murky.
Fake relationships, fake engagements all standard Hollywood practice. If they do decide to do a revel or they get caught I don’t think it will damage their careers to much. Look at Paul Newman and Joanna Woodward, and more recently Michelle Williams, all came out unscathed with careers in tact.
I’m not saying it’s right or condoning this type of lifestyle, god knows I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. You don’t have to like it or agree with it, most of us don’t understand it, but it is what it is, and has been this way for decades. It’s not about to change any time soon.
“We are together” and “Me too” were genuine, organic reactions. This is where departmentalising helps, yes it was a work event, but he’s also human. And at the end of the day you can’t hide or fake body language. I’m sure he doesn’t realise that when C’s name is said his face lights up, it’s an unconscious reaction he has no control over, and you can’t script a response to a question you didn’t know was going to be asked.
Tori