Justin Baldoni Allegedly Planned to Tarnish Blake Lively’s Reputation Online, Citing Hailey Bieber as an Example: Lawsuit |
Justin Baldoni Accused of Planning Smear Campaign Against Blake Lively, Allegedly Referenced Hailey Bieber Example: Lawsuit
Justin Baldoni is accused of trying to orchestrate a smear campaign against his co-star from It Ends with Us, Blake Lively, with claims he used a negative social media post about Hailey Bieber as a blueprint for his plans. These accusations form part of a newly filed sexual harassment lawsuit from Lively’s legal team.
The complaint reportedly includes private text messages showing Baldoni, 40, in discussions with PR executive Jennifer Abel and crisis management specialist Melissa Nathan. Lively, 37, claims these conversations reveal a coordinated effort to damage her reputation.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has firmly denied the allegations, calling them “false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly harm” in a statement to PEOPLE on Dec. 21.
In one quoted conversation on August 4, Baldoni allegedly posted a screenshot of an X (formerly Twitter) post about Bieber titled \”Hailey Bieber’s history of bullying many women.\” Baldoni allegedly commented, \”This is what we would need,\” to which Abel responded, \”Yes, I literally just spoke to Melissa about this during the break. Focus on Reddit, TikTok, [Instagram].””
The complaint also shows that Abel was messaging Nathan the same day, discussing how he was thinking about seeding some negative stories about Lively to control the message beforehand. Nathan allegedly agreed and mentioned a journalist contact who was “ready when we are.”
Blake Lively filed a complaint in California, which would precede an eventual discrimination lawsuit, and alleged she suffered “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety” because of the actions taken by Baldoni. It is said that this psychological trauma affects not only her but also her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their four children.
The following allegations report a meeting the production team held with Reynolds to discuss the behavior Baldoni had. The agreed-upon measures were apparently restrictions on improvising intimate scenes, no physical contact without consent, and not adding any explicit content not in the script.
Lively further accuses Baldoni and his team of engaging in “social manipulation” to damage her image. The suit claims Baldoni’s publicists had considered planting stories painting Lively and even her close friend Taylor Swift as people who “weaponize feminism” for their own advantage.
The lawyer from Baldoni argued that representatives from Wayfarer Studios did not retaliate without provocation but instead simply responded to media inquiries. Freedman labeled the offered evidence as “cherry-picked” and made the point that internal planning for scenario practice is not uncommon in public relations.
In a statement to The New York Times, Lively said she hoped that her lawsuit would shed light on retaliatory tactics that were harmful and prevent others from being targeted in the same way.
