Elizabeth Grubman (born January 30, 1971) is an American publicist, manager and socialite. In 2002, Grubman served 38 days in jail for an incident where she intentionally backed a Mercedes SUV into a crowd, injuring 16 people.
Early life
She is the daughter of
entertainment lawyer
Entertainment law, also known as media law, encompasses legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services often overlap with intellectual property law, which includes key components such as trademarks, copyright, and the right o ...
Allen Grubman and his first wife, the late Yvette Grubman.
[WEDDINGS; Eric Gatoff and Lizzie Grubman](_blank)
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Accessed September 10, 2007. Her parents divorced in 1988.
Her mother had multiple sclerosis and died of ovarian cancer at 58 in 2001.
Career
Grubman is well known as a publicist and manager. She founded her own company in 1996, and has represented
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
,
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
, and the
Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...
.
The 2005 reality show ''
PoweR Girls'' on
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
centered on a group of young publicists working for Grubman's PR firm. The title is a reference to a 1998 cover story in ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
'' magazine that profiled Grubman and several of her rivals, noting that "Lizzie was clearly the most powerful girl of all.".
Personal life
Grubman attended four high schools, including the
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
prep schools
Horace Mann
Horace Mann (May 4, 1796August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer, slavery abolitionist and Whig Party (United States), Whig politician known for his commitment to promoting public education, he is thus also known as ''The Father of A ...
,
Lenox, and
Dwight.
She briefly attended Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
, but dropped out before completing her sophomore year.[
In 1995, she married Eric Gatoff, an associate at her father's law firm.][ They divorced in 1997.
On July 7, 2001, Grubman was asked by a security guard in the Hamptons to remove her Mercedes from a fire lane. Grubman then intentionally backed her father's ]Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to simply as Mercedes and occasionally as Benz, is a German automotive brand that was founded in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, established in 2019) is based in Stuttgart, ...
SUV into a crowd of people outside of the Conscience Point Inn at 1976 North Sea Road in the Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...
, injuring 16 people. Grubman was later charged in a 26-count indictment
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...
with felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...
crimes including second-degree assault
In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
, driving while intoxicated
Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether recreational or ...
, and reckless endangerment
Endangerment is a type of crime involving conduct that is wrongful and reckless or wanton, and likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm to another person. There are several kinds of endangerment, each of which is a criminal act that can b ...
.
The subsequent trial garnered widespread media coverage, not only because of the particular circumstances of the crash, but because of what Richard Johnson, editor of the ''New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative
daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...
''s Page Six
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative
daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertain ...
, referred to as "the overreaching drama of class warfare." Grubman was alleged to have made an inflammatory statement before striking her victims with her vehicle: "Fuck you, white trash." Later, allegations arose that she received "special treatment" at the hands of police, who did not perform a Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser''), also called an alcohol meter, is a device for measuring breath alcohol (drug), alcohol content (BrAC). It is commonly utilized by law enforcement officers ...
test despite allegations, and later, criminal charges, that she was intoxicated at the time of the incident.[ See page 2, items 10, 11, and 12.] In the criminal trial, Grubman faced up to eight years in prison, but served only thirty-eight days in jail and received five years' probation after reaching a plea bargain for leaving the scene of a car accident.
References
;Notes
;Sources
*https://web.archive.org/web/20091206035432/http://gawker.com/5418329/lizzie-grubman-and-erin-kaplan-plot-reality-show-domination-at-pastis
Profile in New York magazine
External links
*
Lizzie on Plum TV Part 1 June 2009
Plum TV Video
Lizzie on Plum TV Part 2 June 2009
Plum TV Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grubman, Lizzie
1971 births
Living people
20th-century American Jews
American marketing people
American people convicted of assault
American public relations people
Birch Wathen Lenox School alumni
Dwight School alumni
Women in marketing
Vehicle-ramming attacks in the United States
21st-century American Jews
2000s vehicle-ramming attacks