HYBE’s acquisition of PR firm tied to Johnny Depp, Justin Baldoni & more sparks concerns in K-pop fans

HYBE created a buzz amongst the online communities after it was revealed that the entertainment company had spent a huge amount to acquire major stakes in a mysterious company. The South Korean multinational company reportedly spent $25 million to obtain 51% of the stakes of the company on August 1, 2024. The follow-up reports revealed that the company is a US PR agency and is connected to several big names in Hollywood.

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HYBE acquires majority stakes in PR firm linked with Johnny Depp and Justin Bladoni

The semi-annual reports of HYBE revealed the mysterious company to be an American PR agency based in Santa Monica based non-listed company called The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG PR). The PR agency was mentioned in HYBE America’s subsidiaries list with a 51% stake. A HYBE official stated that the aim was to “strengthen the public relations resources of HYBE America.”

However, the fact that concerned the fans and online communities was the PR firm’s involvement with the infamous libel case between Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and Amber Heard in 2022. Depp won $15 million in damages after suing Heard over a 2018 op-ed. Despite his court victory, public opinion shifted against him, with accusations of a campaign to harm the latter's image.

TAG PR has listed Melissa Nathan as one of its two managers and is also the president of the LLC. She was Depp’s PR representative during the Depp vs Heard case. Amusingly, she was recently in the headlines when actor Justin Bladoni hired her to manage the PR crisis amid rift rumours with It Ends With Us co-actor, Blake Lively, as reported by Koreaboo. Baldoni was accused of creating an unpleasant environment for everyone on the sets of his latest release. Some of Nathan’s other controversial clients include Drake and YouTuber, Logan Paul.

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K-pop fans concerned about HYBE’s tie with PR firm 

K-pop fans are concerned about the BTS representative company’s association with Nathan and TAG PR’s backgrounds and felt the acquisition was a guilty confession on HYBE’s part. HYBE's acquisition adds to its controversies including executives of the company such as Scooter Braun, Park Ji Won, Bang Si Hyuk, Nu Kim, and David Bolno, feud with Min Hee Jin and health crises involving idols under the company.

Fans took to X to express their concern over the acquisition where one user wrote, “Hybe is definitely guilty of something bro ….” A second user wrote, “Meaning they're trying real hard to protect someone who shouldn't be.” A third user wrote, “Hybe is guilty of really heinous crimes and you can’t convince me otherwise.”

Another wrote, “Y'all don't understand how SCARY this is for the K-pop industry!! They could control ANY idol groups' public perception in the U.S.”