Blake Lively Sued Again For 7 Million USD Amid Justin Baldoni Feud; Crisis Publicist Claims Defamation

Blake Lively gets sued again in a defamation lawsuit by a crisis publicist amid the intense It Ends With Us legal battle. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Feb 06, 2025 | 03:46 PM IST | 8.6K

CC: YouTube

Celebrity crisis publicist Jed Wallace launched a $7 million defamation complaint against Blake Lively on 4 February. Lively had accused him of orchestrating a digital smear campaign against her on behalf of the PR team of It Ends With Us filmmaker Justin Baldoni.

Wallace rejected the allegations in a Texas suit filed by a Texas-based street relation, Inc. He asserted that Lively's statements created reputational harm and financial cost.

Lively, 37, first filed a petition on January 21 requesting the deposition of Wallace but retracted it afterward. In his lawsuit, Wallace claims that the move indicated that Lively was factless for her allegations. His lawyers believe that the latter's accusations regarding a coordinated "digital army" spreading misinformation against her were devoid of any fact and thus constituted defamation.

Lively accused him, saying he "weaponized a digital army around the country from New York to Los Angeles to create, seed, and promote content that appeared to be authentic on social media platforms and internet chat forums."

As per People, Lively's lawyers dismissed the case as retaliatory, as they said the action was direct retaliation against Lively for having filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging sexual harassment and retaliation against her.

In response to the lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum's legal team stated, "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.

Wallace's lawsuit, according to Lively's lawyers, is just a ploy to silence her and undermine the case she is building against Baldoni, whose case is going to trial in March 2026. The suit claims damages of defamation, emotional distress, and loss of business against Wallace. Wallace's lawyer, Chip Babcock, reiterated that Wallace had never met her and further insisted that there was no campaign against Blake Lively.