What the records show—and why it matters
Baldoni’s crisis consultants flagged Swift’s fans as a risk vector, justified a fee hike, and explored redirecting speculation toward actors who had previously worked with Lively (Ben Affleck, Leighton Meester, Anna Kendrick). One text cited in coverage references an X thread about “Hailey Bieber’s history of bullying women,” which a message allegedly called “what we would need.” If accurate, those documents reflect a sophisticated social-media war room—not unusual in Hollywood controversies—but they also raise legal exposure if any seeded messages conveyed false statements of fact about Lively.
The PR firm’s potential touchpoints for liability
TAG PR (The Agency Group PR), run by Melissa Nathan, and Street Relations Inc., led by Jed Wallace, as Baldoni’s crisis PR firms.
1) Defamation via authorship or republication. At common law, anyone who repeats a defamatory statement can be as liable as the original speaker—the “republication rule.” If a crisis team drafts, places, or meaningfully induces content that asserts false facts “of and concerning” Lively, that satisfies publication.
2) Defamation by implication; false light. Even literally true sentences can be actionable if they create a false implication that a reasonable reader would draw (e.g., stitching facts to suggest Lively fabricated allegations). New York recognizes implication claims; many jurisdictions also recognize the sister privacy tort, “false light,” which—like defamation of a public figure—requires actual malice. Abrams Fensterman, LLP Barclay Damon Tom W. Bell
3) Civil conspiracy / concert of action. A PR vendor can face liability if it knowingly agrees to and participates in an underlying tort (e.g., defamation), though standards vary by state and courts police these claims carefully. Minc LawJimerson Birr
4) Tortious interference. If planted stories intentionally and wrongfully interfered with contracts or business expectancy (think brand deals tied to reputation), plaintiffs sometimes plead interference claims alongside defamation. (Elements and defenses are state-specific; anti-SLAPP laws can still apply where claims target speech on public issues.) Reporters CommitteeNYSenate.gov
