Blake Lively finds herself at the center of another legal battle.
On Tuesday (Feb. 04, 2025), crisis PR expert Jed Wallace and his firm, Street Relations Inc., launched a defamation lawsuit against the 37-year-old actress after she mentioned them in her December civil complaint regarding It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
Though Lively didn’t include these parties in her formal lawsuit, Wallace claims the harm was already inflicted when she named both Wallace and Street Relations in her initial filing with the State of California Civil Rights Department.
“Neither Wallace nor Street had anything to do with the alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to investigate or aiding and abetting the alleged harassment or alleged retaliation,” the lawsuit, which was obtained by Variety, states. “Neither could they have breached a contract with Lively because no such contract exists.”
Court documents reveal that Lively’s allegations, “made with either negligence or ‘actual malice'” have resulted in “millions of dollars in reputational harm including both general and special damages through emotional harm (Wallace), actual damages and real and projected loss of business (Wallace and Street) in an amount that exceeds $1,000,000.”
Wallace and Street Relations are pursuing punitive damages amounting to “not less than $6,000,000.”
In a statement to Variety, Lively’s legal team said, “Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation. This is not just a publicity stunt — it is transparent retaliation in response to allegations contained within a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint that Ms. Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department. While this lawsuit will be dismissed, we are pleased that Mr. Wallace has finally emerged from the shadows, and that he too will be held accountable in federal court.”
Last December, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, later escalated to federal court, detailing accusations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and additional charges against Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath.
Subsequently, Baldoni countered with a $400 million lawsuit targeting both Lively and her spouse, Ryan Reynolds, alleging civil extortion and defamation. Baldoni’s team released unedited set footage from It Ends With Us, claiming it disproves Lively’s harassment allegations. However, Lively’s attorneys maintain that the footage actually supports their client’s claims.
Following this release, Lively’s legal representatives sought a gag order against Baldoni’s attorney.
On Jan. 23, Baldoni’s legal team responded by dismissing Lively’s gag order request as an “intimidation tactic” and “tactical gamesmanship.”
On Monday (Feb. 03, 2025), both legal teams appeared in federal court, where the judge mandated compliance with the New York Rules of Professional Conduct regarding media communications.
The ruling prohibits either party from making statements to the press that could potentially sway a jury’s opinion. However, the judge’s order does permit the legal teams to defend their respective clients against any media coverage that originates from sources unrelated to either party.
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