Justin Baldoni’s former PR firm linked to alleged smear campaign against safety advocate

Justin Baldoni’s former crisis public relations firm has been linked to an alleged effort to discredit consumer safety advocate Tamara Rubin, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter published on October 14, 2026.

Rubin runs Lead Safe Mama, an online resource focused on potential exposure to lead and other harmful substances in consumer products. She says she discovered a website attacking her reputation in October 2024, alongside damaging edits to her Wikipedia page. At the time, she did not know who was responsible.

Rubin believes the attacks were connected to Hiya Health, a children’s vitamin company she had publicly criticised after laboratory findings she reported in September 2024 indicated the presence of lead and other heavy metals in its products. Hiya disputed her findings.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hiya emerged as a client of TAG PR in evidence connected to an ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by publicist Stephanie Jones against TAG head Melissa Nathan and other defendants. The evidence reportedly included a staff member’s reference to work on a crisis scenario plan in October 2024.

The report also identified a connection between Hiya executive Benita Litt and Baldoni. Litt, who is married to Hiya’s co-founder and chief executive, had previously served on the board of Baldoni’s now-shuttered nonprofit, BeLove.org, also known as The Wayfarer Foundation.

Baldoni hired TAG PR in August 2024 amid the fallout from his film It Ends With Us and his dispute with Blake Lively. Lively later accused Baldoni, Nathan and other defendants of participating in a smear campaign, allegations that became part of legal proceedings.

Court documents also included an email from a nutritionist recommended by Baldoni to Lively that praised Hiya’s children’s multivitamins.

Neither Baldoni nor Hiya responded to The Hollywood Reporter’s requests for comment, while Nathan had not returned requests concerning her ongoing legal cases.

The reported connections do not independently establish who was responsible for the alleged attacks against Rubin. The claims remain allegations, and Hiya has disputed Rubin’s product findings.