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Amy Adams Furious As Valentino Promotes New Bag at Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Funeral

Fashion house sent out press release with photo of her wearing the bag

Feb 8, 2014 10:00 GMT  ·  By
Sir Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams worked on several movies together, were also good friends
   Sir Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams worked on several movies together, were also good friends

Family, friends, and collaborators came out for Sir Philip Seymour Hoffman’s funeral in New York City the other day, but the sad gathering was for certain fashion houses – Valentino, in particular – an excellent opportunity for some free promotion.

Amy Adams was among the celebrities who attended the funeral services, which makes sense considering she’s worked with the late actor, who passed away from a suspected drug overdose last weekend, several times. They were also very good friends.

Hours before the funeral, as Amy stopped by the apartment of Hoffman’s ex partner, the mother of his children, she was photographed carrying a new burgundy Valentino bag. The fashion house sent out the photos with press release to tout it, Page Six reports.

“We are pleased to announce Amy Adams carrying the Valentino Garavani Rockstud Duble bag from the Spring/Summer 2014 collection on Feb. 6 in New York,” the text read. It was signed Upasna Khosla, Valentino public relations executive.

Word of the press release immediately got back to Adams who, furious that her name would be used for promotional purposes when she was at a funeral, had her publicist release the following statement: “Amy Adams is not a paid spokesperson for Valentino and the suggestion she would use this moment to participate in a promotion is truly appalling.”

Within minutes, uproar online was just as big, with many condemning a company of such prestige as Valentino for scooping so low as to hawk their products at a funeral. Another spokesperson for the company has apologized for the faux pas on Twitter, but also in a statement to Page Six.

“We sincerely regret releasing a photo to the media this morning of Amy Adams with a Valentino bag. We were not aware the photograph was taken while she was attending the wake of Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was an innocent mistake and we apologize to Ms. Adams who was not aware, or a part of, our PR efforts,” spokeswoman Mona Swanson says.

As outrageous as Valentino’s gesture was, it wasn’t the only company to try and promote products at Hoffman’s funeral, the same report says. According to sources at Ugg Australia, they sent several complimentary pairs to celebrities they knew would be attending the service, in the hope that the cold NYC weather would get them to wear them – and then be photographed so doing.