A federal court fight involving some of Hollywood’s most prominent publicists has produced new allegations about anonymously run websites used to target public figures.
Stephanie Jones, who handled publicity for Justin Baldoni and It Ends with Us production company Wayfarer Studios, alleges in new filings that fellow publicist Melissa Nathan committed perjury and concealed evidence concerning her role in creating such sites — including one aimed at Jones herself.
Jones is pursuing defamation and other claims against Baldoni’s crisis communications strategists and former clients connected to the film project. The case has continued in the months since Blake Lively and Baldoni settled their separate It Ends with Us dispute.
Documents uncovered through Jones’ litigation previously became central to Lively’s court assertions. The material has also offered a window into an alleged secret campaign built around anonymous websites carrying damaging claims. People linked to the broader controversy have included Rebel Wilson, Andrew Huberman, Scooter Braun and Travis Scott.
The paper trail at the center of the filing
Jones’ latest claims rely on texts, emails and invoices obtained from a former employee of Nathan’s firm, The Agency Group PR, known as TAG.
Nathan, who once wrote to a colleague, “you know we can bury anyone,” has sworn under oath that she was not involved in creating the websites, which have frequently carried allegedly defamatory material. Jones now argues that the newly submitted exhibits contradict that testimony.
In one exchange, the former TAG employee — who appears to have drafted material for the sites — received direct editing instructions from Nathan. Nathan allegedly asked for the copy to be made “a lot more meaty” and said it “has to also be good enough for us to be able to point a journalist towards.”
The filing also compares notes taken by the employee during a May 2024 phone conversation with Nathan about a planned website targeting Jones. Similar language subsequently appeared on an anonymous site that went live two days later, according to Jones’ litigation.
Jones further alleges that Nathan and the employee worked with fixer Jed Wallace, another defendant, to publish the material in a way intended to make its origins untraceable. Wallace has denied participating in the purported operation. Nathan did not respond to a request for comment.
A digital forensics consultant retained by Jones’ legal team previously analyzed raw internet data and argued in a court-filed report that Wallace was connected to the Jones site and numerous others.
An employee email points to multiple projects
Additional information comes from an Oct. 18, 2024, email the former TAG employee sent to Nathan under the subject line “Items I’m working on at the moment.” The message repeatedly appears to reference Wallace’s participation and lists several crisis-related assignments.
One entry identifies “Site Drafting” for the “Alexander Brothers,” referring to the former New York City real estate agents who were later found guilty of operating a sex-trafficking conspiracy. TAG worked with the brothers around the period when a mysterious website appeared claiming that they were the targets of a conspiracy.
The email also lists “Site Drafting & Updates” for a project called “Amanda Ghost.” That entry is likely connected to an ongoing case involving Wilson and alleged efforts to disparage a producer on her movie The Deb. The TAG employee wrote that the work was “probably part of what Rebel is paying [for].” Wilson has repeatedly denied the claims.
Another listed assignment, “LMDV / Jessica Serfaty,” included “Calls / Crisis Plan / Site Drafting & Updates.” The reference likely concerns billionaire sunglasses heir Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio and actress-influencer Jessica Serfaty.
In July 2024, Serfaty accused her then-fiancé of abuse before quickly retracting the allegation. The following month, she said she discovered a tracking device in her car. Shortly after the employee’s October email, Del Vecchio was reported to be under investigation by Italian prosecutors over his connection to a private investigation firm accused of hacking state security databases. Neither Del Vecchio nor Serfaty responded to requests for comment.
Lead Safe Mama founder says the filing offers answers
The employee’s email also mentions “Hiya,” likely a reference to zero-sugar vitamin brand Hiya Health. Although the staffer did not explicitly describe building a website, the message lists work on a “Crisis Scenario Plan.” Hiya did not respond to a request for comment.
That entry has drawn the attention of Tamara Rubin, who runs Lead Safe Mama, an online resource focused on lead poisoning and consumer-product exposure risks. Rubin said a website targeting her appeared in October 2024, alongside defamatory changes to her Wikipedia page.
Weeks before those anonymous attacks, Lead Safe Mama had published laboratory results saying Hiya vitamins tested positive for lead and other heavy metals. Hiya responded directly to Rubin within days of her publishing the findings.
Rubin previously said the attacks “substantially impacted” her business and personal life, though she did not know who was responsible. She now believes Jones’ new filing identifies the party behind the campaign against her.
“It’s a relief to finally know, to have that closure,” Rubin said. “It’s also horrific, the length that a children’s vitamin company would go to discredit me.”
At the time, Hiya was being acquired by another nutritional supplements company in a $205 million deal that closed in December 2024. “They were trying to protect the bottom line,” Rubin alleged.
Jones’ case remains ongoing, with the newly filed communications now placing Nathan’s sworn denial — and the alleged infrastructure behind several anonymous sites — under renewed scrutiny.