By The Big Magazine Staff
Blake Lively's recent lawsuit against Justin Baldoni also includes private text messages between Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan stating "He wants to feel like she can be buried...", allegedly wrote about Baldoni and Lively according to subpoenaed documents included in the complaint.
The New York Times reported the lawsuit was filed Friday with the California Civil Rights Department. It names Baldoni, the studio behind "It Ends With Us" and Baldoni's publicists Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group (TAG PR) and Jennifer Abel of RWA Communications among the defendants, claiming a coordinated effort to destroy Lively’s reputation.
The complaint also mentioned a PR proposal for Baldoni's smear campaign, which involved a tactic known as ‘astroturfing.’ This is defined as the act of posting opinions or comments online, in the media, etc., that seem to originate from regular members of the public but are actually from a specific company or political group. It's unclear if the proposal came from The Agency Group or RWA Communications.
The complaint also states that Baldoni "suddenly pivoted away from" the film's marketing strategy and "employed domestic violence 'survivor content' to safeguard his public image." Baldoni stepped back from promoting the film, allowing Lively to take the spotlight alongside her husband, Ryan Reynolds, who was also busy with the press circuit for "Deadpool & Wolverine" concurrently.
Attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media". Freedman represents Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives.
The text messages are merely one aspect of a broader lawsuit. In the complaint, Lively alleges that Baldoni and the studio initiated a “multi-tiered plan” to tarnish her reputation after a meeting where she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, confronted “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Baldoni and a producer involved with the film.
"I hope that my legal action 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," Lively said in a statement to the Times. A representative for Lively referred the AP to the Times report, in which Lively denied planting or spreading negative information about Baldoni or the studio.
While The Agency Group also known as TAG PR claims to be full scale specializing in media cleanup and brand management, it looks like all the newly launched PR company will be doing some crisis management and cleaning up of their own PR mess.
"It Ends With Us," adapted from Colleen Hoover's bestselling 2016 novel, premiered in August, surpassing box office predictions with a $50 million opening. However, the film's release was overshadowed by rumors of conflict between the leading actors.
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This story was updated at 5:45pm PST on 12/21/24
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