Howard Bragman comments on the ugly Melissa Etheridge-Tammy Lynn Michaels split

The break-up between singer Melissa Etheridge and actress Tammy Lynn Michaels has been stunning in its bitterness and in the online airing of dirty laundry by Tammy who claims she has been left broke.

When I saw publicist Howard Bragman at the Outfest panel Coming Out In Hollywood over the weekend, I wondered what he thought of the split from a public relations standpoint. Etheridge had initially released a tidy statement but Michaels – who gave birth to the couple’s two children – has since been posting items on her blog claiming she has no money and is seeking full custody of the children.

“We used to call it crisis control, now it’s crisis management,” Bragman said of the flow of online bombshells. “In the old days, you’d try and shut it down. In the world we live in now, the lava’s gonna flow and what you want to do is have it flow harmlessly into the ocean as opposed to take out the village.”

“I’ve handled lots of celebrity divorces,” he added. “Divorces are always good people at about the worst time. I don’t believe everything I hear, I try and be as totally empathetic as I can be because, like everybody else, I’ve been in one of two bad relationships in my life. I hope they can get beyond this and develop some kind of friendship because I think they’re both good people.”

Etheridge has been painted as the villain in this split by her ex but Bragman thinks the Grammy and Oscar-winning singer and songwriter will emerge intact: “I think Melissa is an icon, a leader. I think she’s a wonderful person and I call her a friend. I think she will get beyond this. I think if you are Melissa Etheridge and people are saying these things about you, it probably hurts.”