- Blake Lively accuses co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and orchestrating an online smear campaign against her.
- Baldoni directed his PR team to use a negative social media post about Hailey Bieber.
- Lively's production team, crew, and husband held multiple meetings to address the alleged misconduct.
The lawsuit alleges that Baldoni directed his PR team to use a negative social media post about Hailey Bieber as a template for a similar attack on Lively, as stated in a newly filed complaint by her legal team.
Blake Lively's sexual harassment lawsuit against Justin Baldoni includes private messages as evidence. The messages reveal Baldoni's text and email exchanges with PR executive Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, allegedly plotting a smear campaign to "destroy" Lively's reputation.
Justin Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the allegations, calling them “false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly harm” in a statement.
One exchange allegedly shows Baldoni sharing a screenshot of a post on X (formerly Twitter) titled “Hailey Bieber’s history of bullying many women.”
"This is what we would need," he wrote in the text to Abel. "Yes, I literally just spoke to Melissa about this on the break about what we discussed last night for social and digital. Focus on Reddit, TikTok, [Instagram]," she replied.
The complaint alleges that Abel messaged Nathan, expressing her desire to "plant pieces" portraying Lively as difficult to work with. Nathan reportedly agreed, replying, "Same," and noted that one of her journalist friends was "ready when we are" to initiate the alleged smear campaign.
One of Lively's lawsuits filed in California alleges that Baldoni's behavior behind closed doors caused her to experience "grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety." The lawsuit states, "Ms. Lively has endured extreme emotional distress, impacting not only her but also her family, including her husband and four children."
According to the complaint, the production team, crew, and Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, held multiple meetings to address Baldoni's alleged misconduct toward her. The actress reportedly requested protection from "improvised" kissing scenes, "personal, physical touching," and "sexual comments" made by Baldoni.
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