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Matt Haber at the New York Observer compiles the recent media attention paid to Jennifer (J.J.) Philbin, a writer for "The O.C" who is the daughter of Regis Philbin. It begins with a Talk of the Town piece in the New Yorker two weeks ago about an ethical conundrum that ensued after Philbin had a fender-bender (her fault) on Wilshire Boulevard. Last Sunday's New York Times reported on her wedding to Michael Schur, a writer for "The Office," and there have been mentions since on Radaronline and in Roger Friedman's column on FOXNews.com.
The New Yorker piece merits some pondering, while it's still online. The emailer who pointed me to thinks Schur and Philbin were out of line. Seems that after the Los Angeles accident, the lawyer who Philbin hit demanded $836.96 to fix a scratch on his Saab. Philbin's boyfriend quickly unleashed an email and blog campaign to embarrass the lawyer, turning it at one point into a challenge to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. They raised $26,000, but in the end Schur had regrets, sought out the opinion of ethicists, expressed his doubts on the blog and made his peace with the lawyer. "“It’s possible he thinks of me as a morally high-handed little snotnosed jerk who tried to tell him what to do with his money,” Schur reflected. “It’s also possible that he thinks the next time someone bumps into him he shouldn’t care as much.” As of the New Yorker story, the lawyer had yet to cash the Schur-Philbin check.