Tamara Rubin, an Oregon-based consumer product safety advocate, is known for her informative platform Lead Safe Mama, which highlights exposure risks to harmful substances. Recently, she has found herself embroiled in a controversial situation that pits her against what she describes as a Hollywood smear machine targeting her with the same tactics used against various entertainment industry figures, including producers and actors. “One of these things is not like the others,” she remarked, reflecting on her unexpected involvement in the scandal.
Unraveling the Smear Campaign
In February 2025, Rubin revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she had discovered a defamatory website targeting her in October 2024, alongside slanderous edits made to her Wikipedia page. The source of these attacks remained a mystery at the time, with Rubin likening the situation to a “game of Clue.” She explained that the companies she criticizes often attempt to discredit her efforts, stating, “It’s exhausting to have a target on my back,” and revealing how the attacks adversely affected her business and personal finances, leading to missed mortgage and car payments and food scarcity for her family.
Discovery of the Alleged Perpetrator
By September 2025, Rubin came to believe that Hiya Health, a zero-sugar vitamin brand, was behind the targeting efforts. Evidence surfaced linking Hiya to TAG PR, a crisis management firm whose head, Melissa Nathan, was involved in a defamation lawsuit instigated by publicist Stephanie Jones against TAG and its associates.
Controversy Over Heavy Metal Findings
In September 2024, Rubin reported on Lead Safe Mama that Hiya’s children’s vitamins had tested positive for lead, cadmium, and arsenic. Hiya disputed her findings, but Rubin expressed relief at uncovering the truth, stating, “It’s also horrific, the length that a children’s vitamin company would go to discredit me.” Hiya was amidst a $260 million acquisition deal with another nutritional supplements company at the time, prompting Rubin to accuse the company of prioritizing profits over public safety.
The Hollywood Connection
Further investigation revealed ties between Hiya and Hollywood, specifically through Benita Litt, Hiya’s chief community officer and the wife of the company’s co-founder and CEO. Litt had previously served on the board of Justin Baldoni’s non-profit BeLove.org. Baldoni had engaged TAG in August 2024 for crisis management regarding a different controversy tied to his work on It Ends With Us, which had implications involving actor Blake Lively. Court documents from that case highlighted a recommendation of Hiya’s vitamins to Lively as part of the advice provided.
Connections Beyond the Vitamin Industry
Litt is also recognized for her close friendship with Meghan Markle, having been mentioned in coverage of Markle’s royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. Despite numerous inquiries, neither Baldoni nor Hiya have addressed the claims regarding their involvement in the smear campaign, and Nathan has not responded to requests for comments about ongoing legal matters.
Feeling Like a Character in a Dark Comedy
Rubin likens her experiences, especially in light of Baldoni’s connection, to a scene from a Coen brothers movie, expressing disbelief at the absurdity of the situation. She reflects on how similar her journey feels to that of Karen Silkwood, the whistleblower portrayed by Meryl Streep in 1983’s Silkwood.
