Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against It Ends With us co-star and director Justin Baldoni on Friday, accusing him of sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, alongside claiming he launched a smear campaign with the intent to “destroy her reputation.”
In the lawsuit Blake Lively filed against Justin Baldoni, several other celebrities were allegedly named such as Taylor Swift, Leighton Meester and Hailey Bieber.
Blake attached a “scenario planning” document to the complaint, which revealed the alleged PR plan that Justin and his team had written. In the court documents the alleged leaked plan from his crisis management team reportedly revealed the intent to target Blake in a smear campaign.
So, let’s have a look at all the celebrities who have been named in the lawsuit, as well as why they’ve been mentioned.
Leighton Meester, Anna Kendrick and Ben Affleck
Via Netflix
These three actors and former co-stars of Blake’s were all mentioned in the same paragraph of the alleged response document.
In the filing, Justin’s PR team allegedly started planning a response in the hypothetical situation that “Blake subtly hints at her ‘experience’ in post-premiere coverage, either in an op-ed, interview or otherwise.”
The document continues: “These pieces will lively come out following any potential hit piece and/or coverage from the premiere.
“Our recommended approach would be to provide reporters who reach out for comment, should it be obvious she’s referring to you, with the appropriate background information (listed in Scenario 1) to ensure their stories are balanced and the speculation can be turned to another one of the many people she’s had issues working with (Leighton Meester, Anna Kendrick, Ben Affleck, etc.).”
It was reported Blake had some tensions on set whilst working with Leighton Meester on the set of Gossip Girl, alongside Anna Kendrick.
As for Ben Affleck, he and Blake worked together on The Town, a thriller film in which Ben both directed and starred opposite Blake in.
Taylor Swift
Via Instagram
Taylor Swift was also referenced in the documents, with an email allegedly being shown which revealed how Justin’s team were concerned about the overlap in both Taylor Swift and Blake Lively fans
The email allegedly reads: “We have seen the most innocuous issues turn giant due to socials or the hugest crises have no effect on social whatsoever. You just cannot tell at this stage.
“But BL [Blake Lively] does have some of the same TS [Taylor Swift] fanbase so we will be taking it extremely seriously.”
Another alleged example read: “Our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponisation of feminism and how people like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilising these tactics to ‘bully’ into getting what they want.”
Hailey Bieber
Hailey Bieber has also been referenced in the lawsuit, as reportedly Justin had messaged his PR team about her as an example of how they could damage Blake’s reputation.
Allegedly Justin sent a screenshot of a thread on X about “Hailey Bieber’s history of bullying women,” and he wrote to his team: “This is what we would need.”
Ryan Reynolds
Blake’s husband Ryan was also mentioned during alleged text messages between Justin and his team.
In the messages Justin was allegedly telling them that Ryan had blocked both him and his production company on Instagram.
The messages claim: “We should have a plan for IF she does the same when movie comes out. Just want you guys to have a plan. Plans make me feel more at ease.”
