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The behind-the-scenes turmoil of the summer box office hit "It Ends with Us" erupted into a new level of chaos last night. (For background on the story, click here ). Star and producer Blake Lively has officially filed a lawsuit against her director and co-star, Justin Baldoni (pictured left), accusing him of multiple instances of sexual harassment and of conspiring with a PR firm to manipulate the media and destroy her image during the film's promotional tour. Following the lawsuit's public filing, Baldoni's agency, WME, swiftly issued a statement announcing they would no longer be representing him.
(Image: The New York Times)
While Baldoni and his legal team insist Lively's accusations are fabricated lies, her team has reportedly collected extensive text messages detailing conversations between Baldoni and the PR firm as they allegedly plotted to discredit Lively. These exchanges have since been published by The New York Times.
In one text, a publicist working with Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer, directly relayed a message from him: "Hope she [Lively] feels what it's like to be buried." The hired crisis management expert, Melissa Nathan, reportedly replied, "You know we can bury anyone." Nathan is a well-known figure in the industry, with a client list that includes Johnny Depp, Drake, and Travis Scott.
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In response, Baldoni's lawyer argues that Wayfarer hired Nathan because Lively was planning to spread false, negative information about Baldoni to the media. Baldoni himself is quoted in a text saying, "If she's going to do this when the movie comes out, we should have a plan." During the promotional tour, however, it was Lively who faced an overwhelming barrage of attacks from the media and online commentators. While rumors circulated about Baldoni's alleged on-set misconduct, creative disagreements with Lively, and refusal to do joint press, the volume of criticism directed at him was significantly lower.
Lively has denied the allegation that she intended to smear Baldoni first. She stated that she hopes the lawsuit will expose the retaliation tactics operating behind the scenes, expressing concern that such strategies could deter others from speaking out against misconduct in the future. The lawsuit also reveals that Lively had reservations about Baldoni's involvement from the beginning, citing his persistent efforts to add unnecessary sex scenes before filming began.
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Lively wasn't the only one on the "It Ends with Us" team at odds with Baldoni. The book's author, Colleen Hoover (pictured left), also sought to distance herself from him. Hoover reportedly already had a negative impression of Baldoni, which intensified after he personally told her about Lively's allegations. During the press tour, Hoover and other cast members appeared to side with Lively, doing joint promotions exclusively with her and leaving Baldoni almost completely isolated.
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According to the exposed text messages, Baldoni's animosity towards Lively was palpable. Crisis expert Melissa Nathan initially proposed a strategy to frame Lively as using her power as a producer to control the film's narrative and sideline Baldoni. Unsatisfied, Baldoni allegedly pushed for more, demanding that Nathan go all-out to "bury" her. Nathan later cautioned in a text against detailing specific strategies or naming targets in writing to avoid potential legal repercussions.
During the release of "It Ends with Us," an old interview clip (see link above) from Lively's press tour for "Café Society," in which she appeared to be rude to a journalist, went viral, with many suspecting at the time that its resurgence was manufactured. The lawsuit's text messages now reveal that Baldoni had initially proposed a similar retaliation strategy. He reportedly referenced a media "rundown" of Hailey Bieber's alleged bullying incidents, stating, "This is what we need." Nathan subsequently agreed to arrange a "full social media takedown" in response.
In the texts, Nathan also mentioned they would not use easily identifiable methods like fake accounts, confidently assuring that their tactics were untraceable. She also claimed to have already discussed a large-scale smear campaign with several journalists, including an editor at the tabloid Daily Mail.
Following the lawsuit's exposure, Kjersti Flaa, the journalist from the viral interview, quickly released a new video (see link below) to clear her name, stating she would never accept money for such a thing.
Nathan appeared proud of her results in the text conversations. When Baldoni's publicist expressed delight at how successfully the narrative had been controlled, Nathan reportedly responded, "The dominant social narrative is very pro-Justin and I don't even agree with half of them hahaha." This social media assault allegedly caused significant damage to Lively's career. Her new hair care brand, Blake Brown, which launched during the film's promotional period, suffered an estimated 78% loss in sales, according to the brand's team.
via： The New York Times