The It Ends With Us saga is far from…well, ending.
Since the legal dispute between movie co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni became public knowledge in December 2024, various celebrities have expressed their opinions on the lawsuits. The latest addition to this circle is Bachelor alum Nick Viall, who has now shared his initial thoughts about Baldoni.
In January 2023, the actor from “Jane the Virgin” was featured on the podcast “The Viall Files,” hosted by a reality star. During their recording, it appeared that they got along well, but Viall mentioned that he had a particular gut feeling about the actor.
In a profile published on January 16th, Viall expressed to Bustle that “I sensed he wasn’t the man he was loudly presenting himself to be.
Viall additionally pointed out that he didn’t find it particularly shocking when some of the cast and author of “It Ends With Us,” specifically Colleen Hoover, chose to distance themselves from Baldoni following Lively’s complaint of sexual harassment. Lively subsequently filed a lawsuit, and several celebrities—such as Amber Heard, her “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” co-stars America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Biedel—have openly voiced their support for her in public statements.
Yet, along with this backing, Lively faced a swift onslaught of criticism from various corners that took Viall aback. He admitted, “I was taken aback by how rapidly the internet began searching for reasons to undermine Blake, by resurfacing old interviews and past rumors of supposed mistakes.
Viall’s comments come nearly a month after his criticism of Baldoni went viral on TikTok.
Back in August, Baldoni brought on board Melissa Nathan as a crisis PR manager, sparking rumors about potential issues between him and Lively. This move struck Viall as peculiar, given that Nathan had previously worked for Johnny Depp during his legal dispute with Heard in the year 2022.
In this resurrected podcast excerpt from August, Viall stated that the PR team had mercilessly criticized Amber Heard on social media. It was a full-scale attack on her reputation, he said. Interestingly, Viall didn’t realize that Baldoni was going through a tough time. If you keep up with Baldoni’s work and content, it wouldn’t occur to you that he would employ the same PR team dealing with his crisis.
The employment issue has now escalated into a legal dispute involving the cast members, as Baldoni and Nathan have counter-sued Lively in response to her December 2024 lawsuit. Their filing on January 16th claims that she unfairly took control of the movie and denies any misconduct allegations made against them.
TopMob News has attempted to get a response from Baldoni’s representative regarding Viall’s statements, however, we haven’t received any reply yet.
Keep reading to learn more details about Baldoni’s recent claim.
Four months following the release of the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us,” Blake Lively filed a complaint with California Civil Rights Department (CRD) on December 20, as reported by The New York Times. In this complaint, obtained by TopMob News, Justin Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios, its CEO Jamey Heath, co-founder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. were named as defendants.
Lively claimed in the complaint that Baldoni and Wayfarer associates initiated a retaliatory press and digital strategy after she expressed concerns about alleged misconduct on set, stating that she and other cast and crew members faced invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior from Baldoni and Heath.
Lively further asserted that this campaign against her led to significant personal and professional harm. The charges outlined in the complaint encompass sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent, and/or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy; and interference with prospective economic advantage.
The following day, an exposé emerged in The New York Times, detailing a counterattack smear strategy allegedly executed by Baldoni and his colleagues against Lively – with reference to her CRD complaint. In their article, the newspaper shared messages exchanged between Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), Nathan (crisis communications specialist) and others, which were part of her complaint. The readers had access to the court documents on The New York Times‘s website as well. Lively expressed to the outlet, “I hope my legal action serves to unveil these underhanded retaliatory tactics used to harm those who speak up against misconduct, and safeguard others from similar targeting.
Following the revelation of Lively’s complaint, attorney Bryan Freedman – who represents Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their associates – strongly disputed Lively’s allegations. In a statement on The New York Times website, he stated:
“It’s disgraceful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such grave and utterly false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their associates, as another desperate attempt to improve her negative reputation, which stemmed from her own comments and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and media activities that were observed publicly, in real-time, and uncensored, enabling the internet to form its own opinions. These claims are entirely false, excessively sensational, and deliberately salacious with an aim to cause public harm and perpetuate a narrative in the media.”
Freedman also justified Wayfarer’s choice to engage a crisis manager, asserting this was done prior to the movie’s marketing campaign. He later added:
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios took no proactive measures nor retaliated; they only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and accurate reporting and monitored social activity,” he later added. “What is notably absent from the selectively presented correspondence is evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with the media or otherwise; just internal planning and private communication to strategize, which is standard practice among public relations professionals.
After an article published by The New York Times on December 21, William Morris Endeavor (WME) ended their association with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it was later denied that Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and also represented by WME, played a role in the separation between Baldoni and the agency. This allegation was made by Baldoni in his lawsuit against The New York Times (more on that below). In response to this claim, WME stated to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that “In Baldoni’s filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true.” They further clarified that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere, and there was no pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.
In the time after Lively’s CRD filing and a New York Times article, numerous prominent personalities expressed their support for Lively’s allegations against Baldoni. Notable figures like author Hoover from ‘It Ends With Us’, Jenny Slate who played Ryle’s sister in the series, and Brandon Sklenar who portrayed Lily Bloom’s love interest, were among those who publicly showed their backing.
Jenny Slate, in a statement to Today on December 23rd, expressed her solidarity with Lively, saying: “As Blake Lively’s castmate and friend, I voice my support as she takes action against those reported to have planned and carried out an attack on her reputation.” She continued, “Blake is a leader, loyal friend and a trusted source of emotional support for me and so many who know and love her. What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing, and wholly threatening. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”
Brandon Sklenar shared a screenshot of the complaint published on The New York Times’ website and linked out to the outlet, writing, “For the love of God read this.” Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn also publicly declared their solidarity with her.
Liz Plank recently shared on Instagram that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast”. In her post, she expressed gratitude for the trust, stories, and community that the podcast provided over the past four years. Although she did not provide a reason for her departure, it came shortly after a complaint made by Lively against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank concluded her message by stating her commitment to the values they built together and her intention to continue speaking out against injustice. She also mentioned that she would have more to share soon as she processes recent events, and that she will continue supporting those who call out injustice.
Stephanie Jones, previously Baldoni’s publicist, along with her agency Jonesworks LLC, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan in New York on December 24th. The lawsuit, as reported by NBC News, states that Defendants Abel and Nathan covertly conspired for several months to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, induce contractual breaches, and steal clients and business prospects.
Behind Jones’s back, they allegedly coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to execute a malicious media smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s co-stars, using the ensuing crisis as an opportunity to widen the rift between Jones and Baldoni, and to publicly blame Jones for the smear campaign, even though she had no involvement in it.
According to Abel’s LinkedIn profile, she worked at Jonesworks until last summer. The lawsuit claims that Abel and Nathan are now falsely accusing Jones as their misconduct is being exposed, and are defaming and attacking her within the industry.
Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, are accused in the suit of breaking their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refusing to settle this dispute privately through arbitration.
TopMob News has reached out to the defendants for comment.
In a statement given to Variety on December 23, Lively’s legal team revealed they acquired the texts discussed in The New York Times article through a subpoena issued to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their Wayfarer associates, further clarified that neither of his clients were served a subpoena on this matter. He also mentioned his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers without proper authorization.
On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In this lawsuit, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract due to an article they published about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs are said to have conducted against Lively following her concerns about alleged misconduct on set.
The plaintiffs claim that the report was false and based solely on Lively’s complaint, and that the messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. They assert that The New York Times disregarded contradictory evidence and overlooked their true motives by almost verbatim copying Lively’s narrative without verification.
Additionally, they allege that it was Lively who engaged in a calculated smear campaign, a claim she denies. In response, The New York Times has stated that they intend to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” They argue that their story was thoroughly and responsibly reported, based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails they accurately quoted in the article.
On the same day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, Nathan’s company TAG, and Abel in New York. The court documents obtained by TopMob News reveal that she is accusing these defendants of various offenses, including sexual harassment, retaliation, neglecting to investigate and prevent harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and false light invasion of privacy.
The allegations in this lawsuit were initially outlined in the CRD complaint Lively filed earlier that month. In response to the lawsuit Baldoni and his associates filed against The New York Times (which does not name Lively as a defendant), her legal team stated to TopMob that “the contents of this lawsuit do not alter anything about the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints.”
In their statement, they emphasized that “the premise that Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a strategy to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer is false.” They further clarified that “as evidenced by the federal complaint filed by Lively today, this premise is incorrect.
As a lifestyle expert speaking in the first person, I would say: “Following our legal action against The New York Times, let me be clear: we’ve got more ground to cover. Our court documents indicate that there are other questionable figures involved in this matter. Rest assured, this is not the end of our legal endeavors. In fact, we intend to pursue further actions, including a potential lawsuit against Lively.
The headlines regarding Baldoni and Lively haven’t ceased, as some social media users have suggested that Reynolds, Lively’s husband, may have mocked Baldoni through his character Nicepool in the movie Deadpool & Wolverine.
Reynolds has not addressed these speculations, but Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, shared his thoughts on the matter. During an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, posted to YouTube on Jan 7, Freedman stated:
“In my opinion, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation. You treat it seriously, file HR complaints, and follow a legal process. What you don’t do is joke about the person.
In their statement, Lively’s attorneys clarified that the ongoing lawsuit against Wayfarer and its associates is not merely a disagreement or he-said-she-said situation. Instead, it involves substantiated allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. Since the lawsuit was filed, they allege that there have been further unlawful attacks against Lively. They encourage everyone to remember that such behavior is illegal in all workplaces. The lawyers also warned against tactics like blaming the victim or reversing the roles of offender and victim, which are often used to divert attention from misconduct allegations. They emphasized that media statements are not a defense for their client’s claims, and they intend to present their case in court.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman told TopMob, “It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending the New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint.”
On January 16th, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (her publicist), and Vision PR in New York.
The lawsuit, obtained by TopMob News, alleges that all defendants have committed civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy through false light. Specifically, Lively and Reynolds are accused of breach of good faith, intentional interference with contractual relations, economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.
The plaintiffs refute Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. Instead, they accuse Lively of seizing control over ‘It Ends With Us’ and working with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to tarnish the plaintiffs’ reputation in the press after she faced backlash for promoting the film. (Lively claims she promoted the movie according to Sony’s marketing plan.)
In their lawsuit, plaintiffs claim that defendants collaborated with The New York Times to publish a sensational but untrue report. The media outlet defends its report. Regarding this matter, Freedman stated, “Blake Lively was either deceived by her team or deliberately lied about the truth.” So far, her representative has not responded.
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2025-01-17 02:51