Justin Baldoni Calls Hailey Bieber in Blake Lively Astroturfing Plan
Justin Baldoni, Hailey Bieber, Blake Lively
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images; Donato Sardella/Getty Images; Jeff Spicer/Getty ImagesJustin Baldoni seemed to use a social media post from Hailey Bieber as an example in an astroturf plan against It ends with us costar Blake Lively.
According to text exchanges reviewed in a legal complaint obtained by We weekly on Saturday, December 21, Baldoni sent a screenshot of an X-thread unpacking “Hailey Bieber’s history of bullying women,” the text said, writing, “This is what we would need.”
Lively’s lawsuit claims that Baldoni’s “scheme went far beyond standard crisis PR,” and says that what Melissa Nathana crisis communications specialist from The Agency Group, had suggested was “a practice known as ‘astroturfing’, which is defined as ‘the practice of publishing opinions or comments on the Internet, in the media, etc. that appear to originate from ordinary members of the public, but actually come from a particular company or political group.’”
Earlier this year, Lively was the subject of a social media firestorm surrounding the promotion of her film It ends with us, when it was reported that she and Baldoni had clashed on set.
Blake Lively claims It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni allegedly waged a “social manipulation” campaign to damage her reputation. On Saturday, December 21, news broke that Lively, 37, was suing Baldoni, 40, for sexual harassment. According to The New York Times, the lawsuit – which was filed on Friday, December 20 – […]
“There were two camps in the film: team Blake and team Justin,” a source exclusively shared Us of the film production in August. “This creative struggle set the tone for the negative experience behind the scenes and stopped them from speaking.”
Lively was also criticized for the way she answered questions about the film’s themes of domestic violence. Moreover, her behavior in interviews from years before was also questioned. Amid the backlash, Lively shared domestic violence resources on social media before quitting social media entirely.
Lively’s December complaint alleges that “millions of people (including many reporters and influencers) who saw these planted stories, social media posts and other online content” were the “unwitting consumers of a public relations crisis, astroturfing and digital retaliation campaign ” which was allegedly orchestrated from Baldoni against Lively.
“That is precisely the purpose of an astroturfing campaign,” the lawsuit states. “To stoke the fire and continue to secretly spark conversations, blurring the line between authentic and fabricated content and creating viral public takedowns.”
Months after a reported split between It Ends With Us costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, she sued him for sexual harassment. In the lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, December 20 and obtained by Us Weekly after TMZ and The New York Times reported on it, Lively accused Baldoni of […]
Lively’s complaint also cited a scenario planning document from Baldoni’s team at TAG that mentioned exploring “the planting of narratives about the weaponization of feminism and how people in [Lively’s] circles like Taylor Swift, have been accused of using these tactics to ‘bully’ to get what they want.
Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Baldoni on Friday, December 20, claiming his behavior on set had caused her “severe emotional distress.” The lawsuit alleges that a meeting took place during production in January 2024 to discuss Lively’s claims about the “hostile work environment” on set. The meeting was attended by numerous people, including Baldoni and Reynolds.
According to the lawsuit, Lively’s demands for the meeting included: “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged prior ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions of sexual conquests in the presence of Blake and others, no further mentions of the cast and crew’s genitals, no more questions about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s late father.
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman addressed Lively’s “completely false, outrageous and deliberately lascivious” allegations in a statement to Usclaiming that Lively filed the lawsuit to “repair her negative reputation” and “retell a story” about the film’s production.
Justin Baldoni seems to have only positive things to say about his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively, as reports of an on-set feud continue to circulate online. The drama officially hit theaters in August 2024, and Baldoni, who both directed and starred in Lively, has praised his film partner. “Blak […]
He further alleged that the actress made “multiple demands and threats” during filming, including “threatening not to show up on set, threatening not to promote the film, which ultimately led to its demise during its release, if not met her demands were met.’
In a statement to The New York Times in December, Lively said: “I hope my legal action will help pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted.”
The actress also denied spreading negative information about Baldoni. Us has reached out to Lively’s rep for comment.
