Scooter Braun Tied to Hollywood Smear Saga

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment A new court filing appears to tie Scooter Braun more tightly to the entertainment industry’s emerging smear-site saga. The Hollywood Reporter first exposed the clandestine operation in February. The scandal initially surfaced via a lawsuit connected to Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni ’s It Ends with Us legal war, which is slated for trial in May. Brought by publicist Stephanie Jones, the suit alleged a “cottage industry” of defamatory anonymous websites operating from a shared playbook orchestrated by Baldoni’s crisis publicist Melissa Nathan and online fixer Jed Wallace. A second suit filed in February by actress-turned-activist Alexa Nikolas, a target of one of these smear sites, also named Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman as a defendant. Related Stories General News Ryan Reynolds Says He's "Never Been More Proud" of Blake Lively Amid Justin Baldoni Battle News Blake Lively Vows to "Never Stop Fighting" as Judge Dismisses Majority of Case Against Justin Baldoni, Including Harassment Claim Jones and Nikolas contend they’ve uncovered digital campaigns of discreditation, in which perpetrators destroyed reputations by alleging, without substantiation, that adversaries engaged in — among other activities — prostitution, embezzlement, drug dealing, extortion and human trafficking. These efforts apparently relied on a mix of sock-puppet accounts across social media platforms, which promoted the spurious claims of vilifying websites. In response to Jones’ litigation, Freedman has previously denied to THR that he and his associates have been involved in the activity and termed the allegations “speculation presented as fact.” Now, in an updated complaint, Nikolas asserts that her name is linked, through the internet’s hidden SEO infrastructure, to t...