Actress Blake Lively has been in the spotlight yet again – for reasons she never would have intended – as she faces yet another lawsuit amongst others, with her ongoing battle with her costar Justin Baldoni.
Those chronically online, or even those that haven’t kept up with the It Ends With Us battle for the last few months, will know Lively’ intentions when promoting her new movie It Ends With Us, were very far removed from what has happened since.
The latest plot twist is in the form of another lawsuit, from a publicist which was named in her last complaint which she filed with California Civil Rights Department.
The lawsuit comes after Lively filed a petition on 21st January requesting a deposition from Jed Wallace (of the Texas-based crisis management firm Street Relations) with it being rescinded on Tuesday.
The complaint that Lively submitted, made allegations that Wallace was hired by Baldoni’s PR team to assist in the alleged smear campaign making claims that
he “weaponized a digital army around the country from New York to Los Angeles to create, seed and promote content that appeared to be authentic on social media platforms and internet chat forums.”
Wallace’s lawyers hit back with their own claims, saying that Lively had no facts to support her allegations; which if you followed the story, is not the first time this has been stated.
Lively’s team responded to the statement with their own, “Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation” following on with “while this lawsuit will be dismissed, we are pleased that Mr. Wallace has finally emerged from the shadows, and that he too will be held accountable in federal court.”
According to sources Wallace is seeking a minimum of $7 million in damages plus a court order that states he didn’t engage in harassment or retaliation against the actress.
One of Wallace’s attorneys, Chip Babcock, has also released a statement highlighting how Wallace has never met or spoken to Lively and ”has not engaged in a smear campaign against her at any point in time. The decision to file this lawsuit to rightfully protect himself and his family was made after Ms. Lively not only filed against him first in Texas but, indicated she intended to name him in yet another lawsuit.”
This lawsuit has been added to the ever growing list for Lively has herself and Justin Baldoni already started their own legal battle at the end of 2024 after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her co star, with allegations that ”he engaged in misconduct during the film’s production and ”destroy” her reputation”.
There was a pre trial conference on 3rd February where the judge warned each of the ‘opponents’ lawyers to hold back from litigating the case in the public forum. The actual trial is scheduled to commence in March 2026.
Lawyers from both sides came face to face in court for the first time on Monday, Feb. 3, for a pre-trial conference, where the judge warned them to refrain from litigating the case in the public forum. Baldoni and Lively’s trial is currently scheduled for March 2026.
