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Two top Hollywood publicists accused of helping actor Justin Baldoni orchestrate a smear campaign against Blake Lively have now received publicity of their own.
AP photo
Context
Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against her It ends with us Co-star and director Baldoni, 40, alleges sexual harassment and a retaliatory campaign to damage her reputation. In the suit, Baldoni is accused of inappropriate behavior, including showing Lively explicit images, discussing his addiction to pornography, and improvising unapproved intimate scenes during filming. Despite her complaints, she says her concerns were dismissed and met with retaliation.
In response to her allegations, Lively says Baldoni’s crisis team orchestrated a smear campaign to discredit her, causing her and her family severe emotional distress. Baldoni’s career has faced significant setbacks, including being dropped by his talent agency, WME.
Who is Nathan?
Nathan is a seasoned publicist who specializes in crisis management, helping Hollywood’s elite as they struggle to control the narrative. She is the CEO and founder of The Agency Group (TAG), a public relations firm with bases in Los Angeles and New York and a satellite office in Washington, DC.
Her clients have included Drake, Johnny Depp, Logan Paul and Jason Sudeikis, according to IMDB.
Nathan previously served as Executive Vice President of Hiltzik Strategies, a prominent New York-based firm led by Matthew Hiltzik. She was joined at TAG by several of her colleagues from Hiltzik. She began her career in the UK at the Outside Organization under Alan Edwards, trans The Hollywood Reporter.
Lively’s lawsuit includes alleged text messages between Baldoni, Nathan and Abel. In one exchange, Nathan appears to tell Baldoni, “You know we can bury anybody.”
Who is Abel?
Abel is the founder and CEO of RWA Communications, a public relations and communications services firm based in Beverly Hills. She announced the company’s launch on LinkedIn in August and is Baldoni’s personal publicist.
“None of this would have been possible without standing on the shoulders of giants during my 15+ years in the industry. I’ve learned from the greats and the not-so-greats, all of whom have played an integral role in getting me to where I am.” today,” Abel wrote in the post.
Before starting her company, Abel spent four years as vice president and then partner at JONESWORKS, a New York PR firm. She also spent 11 years at R&CPMKm, formerly known as Rogers & Cowan.
Abel also has news experience, spending five months in 2008 as a producer, editor and reporter and eight months as an assistant producer and editor at CBS47/FOX 30 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Who owns Wayfarer Studios?
Justin Baldoni co-owns Wayfarer Studios with Paylocity founder Steve Sarowitz. They founded the company in 2019.
Wayfarer is an independent production studio that creates feature films –including It It ends with us –TV shows, documentaries and podcasts.
