I have been known to put my foot in my mouth on more than one occasion. Sometimes I will say something because it’s funny and even though I don’t mean any harm, I cross the line trying to get a laugh. Other times I say something and have no idea there’s a line at all.

Like today.

I was in a meeting with a client and somehow we started talking about Dancing With The Stars. It started innocently enough—Do you watch? Sure. Then she asked who my favorite celebrity dancer was. I was sort of non-committal and said I like Shawn Johnson and, oddly enough, the poor dumped chick from The Bachelor. The client asked, “Well, what about the football player? What about the guy from the Sex and the City movie?” And on down the list. Everyone in the group—not just me—had a snarky comment about all the celebs. Until she got to a certain celebrity. Then she asked about one of the female celebs and I said, “Nah, she should get voted off next week.”

“Really?” she asked. “Why?”

“Well, she looked uncomfortable and appeared to be about as flexible as a Barbie Doll.”

This got a huge laugh from the group, including this woman’s boss, who hired us for the job we were meeting about.

Until the woman I was speaking with said, “Hu. Well, she’s my friend.”

At which point I sort of laughed, like, yeah, okay, right.

“No, really, she is,” she said. “And my husband represents her.”

The look of panic was pretty obvious on my face, and I stared at my boss, like “Fuck, help me.” He laughed it off at first, until it was clear she was pissed.

Then I got pissed, and pretty much seethed quietly through the rest of the meeting.

I felt set up. She deliberately asked about this person last, after everyone chimed in with equally snarky comments about the other celebs, and I stupidly took the bait. Her co-workers obviously knew of the connection, but clearly I didn’t.

I forget that in the industry I’m now working in, it’s never out of the real of possibilities that people know people. And as my husband reminded me tonight, you never say a negative word about anyone no matter what. For that very reason.

“Phil Spector? Yeah, he’s an okay guy.”

“Robert Blake? Sure, he’s cool. Wouldn’t hurt a fly. Neither would OJ Simpson.”

So now I’m alternately pissed off and worried that she’ll hold a grudge.

I should have just shut the fuck up and made polite, non-controversial conversation.

Lesson learned.