The Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama has sparked a renewed conversation about the influence of social media and the authenticity of online content. The issue of social media manipulation has been a growing concern, with internet citizens, often referred to as netizens, playing a significant role in shaping public opinion on various topics. However, the debate has recently gained momentum after leaked conversations between Baldoni and his PR team went viral, following Lively's lawsuit against him.
Notably, this is not the first instance of a woman being targeted by a 'smear' campaign on social media. Previously, Amber Heard faced intense online harassment when she took her former husband, Johnny Depp, to court. More recently, ADOR CEO and K-pop mogul Min Hee Jin also experienced similar online hatred. A striking commonality among these three cases is the involvement of the same PR team, The Agency Group PR LLC, now known as TAG PR.
A beloved Hollywood heartthrob, Johnny Depp had a significant advantage at the start of the trial against Amber, thanks to his immense fame and wealth. As one of the most recognisable and bankable stars of the past three decades, Depp had all the resources to hire a top-notch team of lawyers and PR experts. So that's what he did. He hired Melissa Nathan's PR agency based in Santa Monica-based non-listed company called The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG PR).?
The outcome? A tidal wave of public support for Johnny Depp was fueled by an overwhelming flood of social media posts that strongly supported him and harshly criticised Amber Heard. This online backlash greatly led to a significant shift in public opinion, with many people rallying behind the Pirates of the Caribbean star.
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's feud began while filming for Colleen Hoover's book-to-film adaptation It Ends with Us. In August, before the film's release, reports surfaced that Justin hired veteran crisis PR manager Melissa Nathan for damage control.
After Blake's 10-claim complaint against Baldoni, screenshots of Nathan's chat with Baldoni's PR strategist Jennifer Abel were obtained by various outlets. According to a Daily Mail report, in one of the alleged messages, Abel said that Justin wants to feel like she could be buried," and responding to it, Melissa reportedly said, "You know we can bury anyone but I can't write that to him. I will be very tough."
While Jennifer Abel has broken her silence after the lawsuit, Nathan has not responded to the allegations.
During the semi-annual reports of HYBE, the K-pop supergroup BTS agency, it was revealed that the media mogul acquired a 51% stake in TAG PR. At that time, a company official stated that the aim was to ¡°strengthen the public relations resources of HYBE America.¡± However, amid the recent turn of events, fans are wondering if HYBE roped in the new firm to fuel Min Hee Jin online hate.
"Same in all these celebrity spaces during public feuds as they are targetted by these PR firms to sway public opinion. Here is a reflection discussion today on Blake Lively after the revelations. She was the "MHJ/NJ" in this feud. It is essentially same," one user wrote.
?The user added, " I am 100% sure going to see an exact same discussion or reflection on K Pop Reddit sympathising not just with NJ but also MHJ in a year, 2 years, who knows maybe even months when reality of the situation sets in of what has been happening behind closed doors at Hybe."
Circling back to Blake Lively's lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, along with the smear campaign, the actress has accused her co-star of sexual harassment, which involved including intimate scenes without her permission or any prior notice. She has also alleged that he joked about her post-partum weight and made jokes about her deceased father. Baldoni's legal representative has refuted the claims.?
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