Justin Baldoni allegedly used a viral Hailey Bieber scandal as inspiration for a smear campaign targeting his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively, according to a lawsuit filed by Lively.
Legal documents obtained by People magazine on December 21 claim Baldoni referenced a post titled “Hailey Bieber’s history of bullying many women” in private texts with PR executive Jennifer Abel and crisis manager Melissa Nathan, outlining plans to damage Lively’s reputation.
“This is what we would need,” Baldoni reportedly wrote in a text exchange dated August 4, referring to the Bieber post, while Abel replied with plans to use Reddit, TikTok, and Instagram to spread the negative narrative.
Lively’s complaint accuses Baldoni and his team of orchestrating a “social manipulation” campaign, including planting stories about her alleged bullying and misuse of feminism to gain power.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the claims, calling them “false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.” He stated the lawsuit is based on “cherry-picked” messages and that no retaliatory actions were taken beyond standard PR scenario planning.
The lawsuit also alleges that Baldoni’s on-set behaviour prompted meetings with production, including Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds, to set strict boundaries around unscripted touching, sexual comments, and additional sex scenes.
Lively claims the emotional toll of Baldoni’s alleged actions has deeply affected her and her family.
Sony Pictures and Baldoni’s company, Wayfarer Studios, are also named as defendants.
