Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, on December 20th. As per a report by US Weekly, Blake Lively has also accused Baldoni of setting up a smear campaign against her to destroy her reputation. Lively’s lawsuit also included details about crisis management tactics aimed at her previous professional and personal relationships.
A scenario planning document shared from Justin Baldoni’s side notes that their crisis management firm can explore planting fake stories about the weaponization of feminism. It also alleges that people like Taylor Swift have been utilizing these tactics to bully people into getting what they want. Other A-list celebrities named in the lawsuit are Hailey Bieber, Leighton Meester, Anna Kendrick, Ben Affleck, and Ryan Reynolds.
Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni of starting a smear campaign against her. She allegedly faced a barrage of criticism on social media post the press tour of their film, ‘It Ends With Us’. Lively was scrutinized for her comments on the press tour as well as from old interviews.
Shortly after the film’s release, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni accusing him of workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment. The legal complaint also listed Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, as a defendant.
Lively accused Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jamey Heath of “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior.” She alleged that other female cast and crew of the film also faced similar trauma from the defendants. The complaint also detailed other toxic behavior from Baldoni and Heath’s side.
Blake Lively’s legal filing also alleged that Baldoni and his PR team designed a smear campaign to damage her public image in the press and online. She accused Baldoni of hiring a crisis manager who led a “sophisticated, coordinated, and well-financed retaliation plan” against her and used a “digital army” to post fake but believable stories about her on social media. She added that the PR team used the same techniques to maintain Baldoni’s credibility and suppress any negative publicity about him.
Blake Lively’s close friend, Taylor Swift’s name appears twice in the lawsuit. Firstly, it was used in a proposed strategy to plant stories about the weaponization of feminism and claimed that Swift had done the same for personal gain. The other instance involved a message from Melissa Nathan, head of TAG PR. Nathan shared concern over Lively’s connection to Swift. She also acknowledged the influence of Swift’s fanbase, recognizing the potential risk of backlash from ‘Swifties’ on social media.
Blake Lively and Taylor Swift’s friendship goes way back. The actor and singer first connected in 2015 and have since maintained their strong female friendship. Swift has also used the names and voices of Blake and Ryan Reynold’s kids in many of her songs.
