Top Publicist Alleged to Have Hid Evidence About Celebrity Smear Sites

Key Points:

• Stephanie Jones, former publicist for Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, is suing Baldoni’s crisis communication team and former clients for defamation, revealing a secret network of anonymous smear websites targeting various celebrities.
• New evidence from a former employee of Melissa Nathan’s firm, The Agency Group PR (TAG), suggests Nathan lied under oath about her involvement in creating defamatory sites, with documents showing Nathan gave direct editing instructions to make content more damaging.
• The litigation links fixer Jed Wallace to the publication of these anonymous sites, supported by digital forensic analysis and internal emails referencing coordinated efforts to keep the sources untraceable.
• Internal TAG emails reveal multiple high-profile clients connected to similar smear campaigns, including Rebel Wilson, billionaire Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio and actress Jessica Serfaty, as well as the vitamin brand Hiya Health, which faced a crisis plan amid allegations of lead contamination.
• Activist Tamara Rubin, targeted by a defamatory website and Wikipedia edits in October 2024, experienced significant personal and professional harm; her work exposing lead in Hiya vitamins preceded the attacks, with the company responding publicly after her findings.