Since then, Nathan has become a heavy hitter in the PR and crisis communications field, often working with highly recognisable figures embroiled in public controversy.<\/p>\n
For nearly a decade, Nathan was the executive vice president of New York consulting and communications firm Hiltzik Strategies, which represented Depp during his legal dispute with Amber Heard in 2022.<\/p>\n
Last year, Nathan left Hiltzik Strategies to establish The Agency Group PR.<\/p>\n
What is The Agency Group?<\/h3>\n
Nathan launched The Agency Group<\/a> PR (TAG) in June 2024. It specialises in communications, crisis and reputation management, as well as personal publicity and digital team services for clients within the entertainment, corporate, innovation and litigation spaces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Some of these clients include controversial figures such as Depp, Drake, Travis Scott, wrestler and influencer Logan Paul and organisations such as HYBE America \u2013 the US arm of the massive entertainment and media company behind many of South Korea\u2019s biggest K-pop groups (BTS, NewJeans<\/a>).<\/p>\n Johnny Depp worked with Melissa Nathan during defamation proceedings against his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/p>\n TAG\u2019s majority stakeholder is a company run by entertainment industry executive Scooter Braun, per The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to TAG\u2019s website, the firm \u201credefines the rules of reputation management\u201d.<\/p>\n Loading<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Many celebrities, but her most well-known clients so far are arguably Johnny Depp and Justin Baldoni.<\/p>\n According to The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, Nathan worked with Depp during defamation proceedings against his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022, in which Depp claimed his reputation had been damaged by Heard\u2019s allegations that he was a domestic abuser<\/a>. Heard countersued Depp over claims by his former lawyer that she was engaging in an \u201cabuse hoax\u201d.<\/p>\n The six-week trial became a global spectacle. Some suspected a targeted online campaign was launched against Heard and her supporters to tarnish their credibility<\/a>.<\/p>\n TAG and Nathan were contacted for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Depp ultimately won the case and was awarded $US15 million. Heard, meanwhile, was awarded $US2 million over a defamatory comment made by Depp\u2019s former lawyer.<\/p>\n Two years later, Nathan returned to the public eye after taking on actor-director Baldoni as a client amid his rift with his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively. The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> said Baldoni hired Nathan during the release of the Colleen Hoover-adapted film. Notably, Nathan was not the only PR professional working with Baldoni at the time.<\/p>\n Justin Baldoni allegedly hired Melissa Nathan during the release of It Ends With Us.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>WireImage<\/p>\n Late last year, Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni and others associated with the film\u2019s production company. She also accused him of launching a smear campaign against her to \u201cdestroy\u201d her reputation. Baldoni denied all the claims, and later filed a $US400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and her publicist, citing defamation, invasion of privacy and civil extortion.<\/p>\n Baldoni\u2019s case has been dismissed<\/a>, but Lively\u2019s is ongoing, with a trial date set for March 2026. The actress has, however, dropped her claims against Baldoni of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of the most reported elements of this case was the smear campaign allegedly launched by Baldoni and his team against Lively. In her lawsuit, Lively included text messages (obtained via a subpoena) between Baldoni and his PR team, including Nathan, as evidence of an alleged attempt to damage her reputation.<\/p>\n Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni and his team of a smear campaign against her during the release of It Ends With Us.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/p>\n \u201c[A] website (to discuss), full reddit, full social account take downs, full social crisis team on hand for anything \u2013 engage with audiences in the right way, start threads of theories (discuss) this is the way to be fully 100 per cent protected,\u201d one of the text messages allegedly sent to Baldoni from Nathan read.<\/p>\n In a separate text exchange allegedly between Nathan and a publicist working with Baldoni and the production studio \u2013 published in a New York Times<\/a> article in December \u2013 the latter said Baldoni wants to feel like Lively \u201ccan be buried\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know we can bury anyone,\u201d a text message allegedly from Nathan replied.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Who has Nathan worked with before?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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