Was the Blake Lively hate train an intentional PR-fueled smear campaign orchestrated Justin Baldoni? Here’s the truth

It Ends With Us (2023) was a popular film. Not for it’s content or as a matter of fact, any creative brilliance, but for the equal parts catty and dodgy behind-the-scenes drama which absolutely none of the players addressed directly. Up until now. The Blake Lively smear campaign was a Justin Baldoni original, way more creative than all of It Ends with Us(Photos: X) Over the weekend news broke of Blake Lively having sued her former co-star and director, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment. Now as goes with any big blowup in the public eye, Blake Lively has her supporters and detractors and Justin Baldoni has his. But, what appears to have really got everyone’s goat are the reams and reams of alleged ‘evidence’ which paint Justin as orchestrating an intentional and strategic PR-fueled smear campaign against Blake. It’s no big secret that Blake and Justin were barely being able to stand one another at the time of promoting their film. Both maintained a dance and often exclusivity for a major part of the film’s promotional leg, with their promoting styles also being pitted against one another. While Blake was dragged through the mud for her whole flower-power packaging of a film which was essentially about surviving domestic violence, Justin gained palpable credibility for the somber tone and aura he projected while addressing the same. Now your thoughts about how wrong (or right) Blake’s approach was are of course your own. But what is coming to light is that the sea of hate Blake swam through earlier this year, may not have been a 100 percent authentic. Lo and behold, the details of an alleged smear campaign orchestrated Justin in cahoots with his PR team. And before you write this off as hogwash (especially considering how unlikeable Blake’s persona has been over the past few months) there’s some New York Times-attested proof to throw you off-balance. More so, in hindsight it all seems to make sense. There was probably a reason behind Justin promoting the film as a lone wolf even as the rest of the cast tagged along with Blake, not to mention how every last cast member has unfollowed him. Most telling however, is Justin having hired crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, whose past repertoire of clients include the likes of Johnny Depp (yes!), Drake and even Travis Scott. The thousands of text messages and emails Blake and her legal counsel obtained through a subpoena, in a way puts her in the clear. The issue really began when Blake, at the time of filming, had raised concerns about inappropriate and sexually lewd behaviour directed at her. Though the studio didn’t retaliate legally at the time, what has come to light is essentially a (fairly successful) attempt to “bury her”, directly going for the jugular — her reputation and credibility as a public figure. Painting Blake as a bully and difficult to work with now seems entirely concocted — “I’m having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with. Just to get ahead of it”, “full social account takedowns” and “He wants to feel like she can be buried” are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the incriminating excerpts of all the meticulous planning involved. Blake came out of this looking overbearing and obnoxious, especially when it came to Sony Pictures (the dributors) choosing her cut of the film (with her own editors, composer and also Taylor Swift’s My Tears Ricochet) over Justin’s. And though there were murmurs of the latter’s alleged misconduct, nothing concrete was ever published (up until now). The siner nature of this strategic takedown, discrediting Blake is evident in one of Melissa’s messages which read, “ALL Press is so overwhelming Weve confused people So much mixed messaging It’s actually really funny if you think about it”. The throwback to the Kjersti Flaa interview where Blake clearly chose to spar with the reporter who merely congratulated her on her ba bump did nothing to tip the social scales in the mother of two’s favour. Kjersti video, titled ‘The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job’ may have been an independent jaunt back to an unpleasant experience she had with the actor, but given the timing, the internet ATE. IT. UP. An August brand marketing report produced for Blake back in August after reviewing “the entirety of Google’s search index” for her name, revealed that 35 percent of it was in reference to Justin — alarmingly high considering how expansive a career Blake has enjoyed (for instance, nothing she could ever do on screen would top her turn as Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl). The report concluded that she was likely the subject of a “targeted, multichannel online attack”. A New York Times deep read compared the intensity of it directly to the irretrievable downfall of Amber Herd during her Johnny Depp trial. To give you more clarity on what Blake was allegedly dealing with which prompted this PR-war and now a legal battle, her filing names Justin, Jamey Heath (chief executive), Wayfarer Studios, Jennifer Abel (Justin’s PR) and Melissa as the key players among others. From Justin allegedly attempting to push in unwanted kissing scenes and discussing his sex life without seeking her consent, to Jamey reportedly showing a naked video of his wife and trying to watch the actor topless in her trailer coupled with unannounced visits from both at inopportune times (including when she was breastfeeding), truly paint her experience out as a disarming horror episode. The studio’s lack of empathy for her situation was evident in one of their statements quoted Blake’s legal counsel — “Although our perspective differs in many aspects, ensuring a safe environment for all is paramount”. Vapid to say the very least. Just earlier this month, Justin was felicitated at the Vital Voices of Solidarity Awards, “an awards program that honors remarkable men who have shown courage and compassion in advocating on behalf of women and girls worldwide”. Feels like it may be time to initiate a callback. Between Blake and Baldoni, whose side are you on?