Justin Baldoni‘s Crisis PR Firm Linked to Smear of Consumer Safety Advocate
Consumer safety advocate Tamara Rubin says documents linked to a defamation lawsuit suggest a public relations firm hired by actor Justin Baldoni may also have worked on a crisis plan for Hiya Health, a children’s vitamin company she had criticised. The reported connection matters because Rubin says she was targeted by a website and damaging Wikipedia edits after publishing lab findings about the company’s products.
Rubin reported in September 2024 that Hiya products had tested positive for lead and other heavy metals; Hiya disputed her findings. A TAG PR staffer referred to a “Crisis Scenario Plan” for Hiya the following month, according to evidence in the lawsuit. Baldoni hired TAG in August 2024 for crisis management amid fallout from *It Ends With Us*; the article also notes that Hiya’s $260 million acquisition closed in December 2024 and that a Hiya executive had served on Baldoni’s nonprofit board. Baldoni, Hiya and TAG’s head Melissa Nathan did not provide comment to the publication.
- Documents point to TAG PR work for Hiya Health.
- Rubin had reported lead and other heavy metals in its products.
- Hiya disputed her findings; the alleged targeting remains part of a wider dispute.
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Tamara Rubin is a consumer safety advocate who tests products and publishes her findings. In September 2024, she reported that Hiya Health children’s vitamins had tested positive for lead and other heavy metals; Hiya disputed her results.
Justin Baldoni is an actor who hired the public relations firm TAG PR for crisis management in August 2024. Hiya is a children’s vitamin company, and one of its executives had served on the board of Baldoni’s nonprofit.
The reported connection matters because Rubin says she was targeted by a website and damaging edits to her Wikipedia page after publishing her findings. Documents cited in a defamation lawsuit reportedly refer to a TAG PR crisis plan for Hiya, raising questions about whether the firm’s work for Baldoni and the company overlapped.
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The case for
If TAG PR worked on a Hiya crisis plan, the company could reasonably have sought advice on responding to disputed product-safety claims and protecting its reputation, while contesting Rubin’s methods or conclusions through evidence. A reference to a plan does not by itself establish that TAG or Hiya directed the website or Wikipedia edits, or that those actions were intended to silence a critic.
The case against
If Rubin was targeted after publishing test results that Hiya disputed, the timing and reported links among TAG, Hiya and Baldoni could reasonably prompt concern that crisis communications crossed into efforts to discredit a consumer-safety advocate. Such conduct, if directed by or undertaken for the company, could deter scrutiny of children’s products; the reported evidence and lack of comment leave key questions about responsibility and intent unresolved.