The ongoing legal battle between actor-director Justin Baldoni and actress Blake Lively has taken a dramatic turn, as Baldoni filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times on December 31. The lawsuit comes after the publication reported allegations that Baldoni orchestrated a smear campaign and sexually harassed his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively.
Baldoni’s lawsuit includes numerous text messages to support his claims and counter the accusations outlined in Lively’s filing. Key figures in the legal dispute include Justin’s PR team members Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan, crisis PR expert Jamey Heath (CEO of Wayfarer Studios), and Blake’s PR representative Leslie Sloane.
One of the text exchanges cited in Baldoni’s lawsuit allegedly shows him expressing concerns about accusations of planting negative stories against Lively. In a message to his PR team, Baldoni reportedly stated, “How can we say somehow that we are not doing any of this – it looks like we are trying to take her down.”
Another message included in the lawsuit purportedly shows Baldoni’s team clarifying that negative publicity about Lively was not orchestrated by them but happened “organically because people saw the actual movie and were like, wait… This movie is about domestic violence, and they wore florals too.”
Baldoni’s team also submitted evidence of their frustration over allegations of a smear campaign, with one text reading, “We had NOTHING to do with that,” and another stating, “This is crazy. She doesn’t have a good reputation. All of this is organic stuff from real people making TikToks – not bots.”
As new text messages and allegations surface, social media is abuzz with debates, with some users rallying behind Baldoni and others declaring “This case is worse than Amber Heard VS Johnny Depp.”
“Ok I have to admit it seems like a good case for Baldoni, He provided a lot of text evidence supporting his claims & it does seem (so far) Blake’s & NYT were being disingenuous,” read a tweet.
Since the texts were made public, netizens have taken to social media to criticise Blake Lively, accusing her of launching a “calculated” attack against Baldoni. While sharing photos of text messages submitted by Lively and those by Baldoni, many users have called out the actress for allegedly omitting key context, such as emojis and additional messages, that might have portrayed Baldoni’s actions in a different light.
A text read, “My God it seems that Blake Lively’s filed complaint and the NYTimes article did in fact alter the text conversation to make it look like Justin Baldoni’s publicists were saying the opposite of what they were saying. The publicists were actually saying the bad PR wasn’t coming from them and were joking about it seeming the opposite. Wow.”
Another tweet showed Baldoni’s version of the chat featuring a smile was was seemingly edited out of Blake’s article. “Baldoni’s complaint presents a slightly different version of the text conversation in question. This one has an upside-down smiley face right in the middle. ‘You really outdid yourself with this piece.’ Hmm. Weird. What’s going on?” A netizen asked.
Another key point of contention is the involvement of an intimacy coordinator. Lively alleged that intimate scenes were neither rehearsed nor discussed with her beforehand. Baldoni refuted this by sharing texts showing that an intimacy coordinator had been hired, but Lively allegedly delayed meeting with them, responding, “I feel good. I can meet her when we start. Thank you though!”
“This case is worse than Amber Heard VS Johnny Depp,” one commented and added, “If you haven’t been following along please do your research. Blake Lively did not want to meet the intimacy coordinator, this was a text she sent to Justin Baldoni. This man came with receipts and is willing to go to trial.”
“This Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively drama is a reminder that you should never clear your chat history. Always keep receipts,” said another.
In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni of entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed and breastfeeding. One text exchange, however, shows Lively informing Baldoni that she was pumping breast milk in her trailer and inviting him to discuss lines.
Lively also alleged that Baldoni frequently used the term “sexy” to describe her and other women on set. Baldoni countered this claim by sharing a text in which Lively herself described a costume piece for her character as “much sexier.” Baldoni’s lawsuit argues that his use of the word “sexy” was merely a response to her creative input.
Netizens are actively taking sides in this highly publicised legal drama, eagerly anticipating its progression to trial. Many have taken a dig at actress Blake Lively for her allegedly tone-deaf “wear your florals” comment during the film’s promotions. In a sarcastic twist, some have mocked her by suggesting, “Bring your friends, wear your florals… to watch the trial.” The remark, intended to troll the actress, highlights the growing divide in public opinion surrounding the case.
