There is a scene the self-titled docuseries "PULISIC," which premiered Paramount+ in December, in which Christian Pulisic is in the back of a car, presumably on the way to a media event or public appearance. The cameraman, his close friend Dan Ioffreda, zooms in on the American, and asks him to comment on the day's proceedings.
Pulisic bats the camera away, and peers out of the window.
"It’s too early for this," he tells his friend in the otherwise pretty innocuous clip.
But that short segment - no more than five seconds - embodies not only the documentary but also the entire Pulisic persona, writ large. The series offered rare insight into a character who has always intentionally veered away from the spotlight, suddenly welcoming into his life the very the kind of attention he has always appeared to resent.
It was decent entertainment, overall, but it was also a masterclass in PR and brand building. Here's Pulisic, juggling the ball as a kid. There's Pulisic, playing ping pong with his dad. But look, he can also score for AC Milan against Inter and bang in goals for the USMNT. He's a good footballer, sure, but he's also an interesting human, the whole thing seemed to suggest.
And then it all unraveled.
Pulisic's actions this summer - first in opting to not play for the USMNT at the Gold Cup, and then worse, giving a misguided interview in attempt to explain it - appeared a disasterclass in PR. Pulisic had spent months filming, producing and releasing hours of content to show the wider public why he was such a good guy, enhance his reputation and piece together a fine image.
Then, in two short weeks, he seemingly tossed it all away. What should have been the culmination of some immaculate brand building has instead become a contradiction - a character pulled two different ways, and failing to settle on a direction.