What's New
The legal team representing actress Blake Lively has obtained large numbers of text messages from the phones of her co-star, Justin Baldoni and two public relations executives. The texts were disclosed as part of a lawsuit taken by Lively in California.
The texts allegedly show a conspiracy by Baldoni to damage the reputation of Lively, his co-star on the film It Ends With Us.
Lively is suing Baldoni for sexual harassment and allegedly launching a publicity campaign to tarnish her reputation.
Baldoni has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers previously told Newsweek the claims were "categorically false."
Newsweek contacted Baldoni and Lively's representatives by email on Tuesday seeking comment.
Why It Matters
Disclosures in the lawsuit offer a valuable insight into the film industry— including how external PR agencies promote or damage the reputation of individual actors and the behind-the-scenes disputes that occur between actors on film sets. The lawsuit also confirms rumors that have been circulating for at least six months of the conflict between Lively and Baldoni, even as they promoted the film together.
What To Know
The lawsuit, filed with the California Civil Rights Department (the CRD) on December 20, contains many text messages allegedly exchanged between Baldoni and his public relations representatives.
Lively claims that Baldoni, who directed and acted in It Ends With Us, hired Jennifer Abel of PR firm RWA Communications and Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group PR, to damage Lively's reputation.
Newsweek sought email comment on Tuesday from Abel and Nathan.
Lively's attorneys used a subpoena to obtain the texts, which alleged how Baldoni used PR to shape the media message. The claims include:
Allegedly Planting Negative Stories About Lively
- In one message Abel tells Nathan that she was "having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with."
- Nathan later warns Abel that they have to give Baldoni a plan for destroying Lively's reputation, but cannot risk putting it in writing.
- "We can't write it down to him…We can't write that we will destroy her" she notes.
- Nathan adds: "You know we can bury anyone."
Allegedly Using Domestic Violence Concerns To Promote the Film
- Baldoni asked Abel "What is the TikTok strategy?" and adds "I'd like you guys to start posting me ONLY talking about domestic violence and clips [about] why this movie is so important."
Concerns About the Message They Are Promoting
- Nathan tells Abel that social media posts in favor of Baldoni and against Lively are "really really ramping up," to which Abel replies: "It's actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women."
PR Woman Can't Believe Pro-Baldoni Messages on Social Media
Nathan tells Abel: "The majority of socials are so pro Justin and I don't even agree with half of them lol."
Nathan later adds: "Narrative is CRAZY good."
What People Are Saying
Author Colleen Hoover, who wrote the book on which the film It Ends With Us is based, posted a message on Instagram supporting Lively.
"@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," she wrote. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt."
Lively issued a statement in which she said she hopes her legal team "helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted."
Baldoni's lawyer said it was "shameful that Ms Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr Baldoni."
He said that Lively's suit was "intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."
What Happens Next
Once it receives a credible complaint, the CRD sends a copy to the accused person.
It then "independently investigates and assesses the facts and legal issues in each case."
"CRD may attempt to resolve complaints through conciliation or by referring the case to CRD's Dispute Resolution Division when appropriate or required by law," it states on its website.
"If there is reasonable cause, CRD notifies the parties of this determination and may notify them that the department intends to file a lawsuit in court. Prior to filing a lawsuit, CRD typically requires the parties to go to mediation to attempt to reach an agreement to resolve the dispute," it states.
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