Blake Lively reveals how she got hold of texts that allegedly show Justin Baldoni’s crisis PR firm attack
Blake Lively testified in a July 2025 deposition and revealed how she obtained the text messages about Justin Baldoni running a smear campaign against her.
According to TMZ, the actress stated her friend Ashley Avignone, who is also close to Taylor Swift, tipped her off about Stephanie Jones, a publicist who claimed to possess “the most disturbing messages” from Baldoni’s crisis PR team.
Per Lively’s testimony, Jones desperately wanted to reach the It Ends With Us star. She allegedly found text messages in Jennifer Abel’s phone and they contained such shocking conversations about Lively that Jones was brought to tears.
Lively claimed that Jones told Avignone about the “most disturbing messages she’s ever read in her 20- to 30-plus-year career.” The Gossip Girl alum said that Jones attempted to contact Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, but was dismissed.
Jones later explained that she had Abel’s phone because Abel used to work for her. Eventually, Lively’s legal team subpoenaed the texts from Jones and used them in court.
Lively’s smear campaign allegation against Justin Baldoni
Lively presented thousands of pages of text messages and emails to prove that Baldoni was running a smear campaign against her. According to The New York Times, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios hired crisis PR expert Melissa Nathan in August 2024 after Lively complained about s**ual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us.
The documents allegedly show Nathan declaring, “You know we can bury anyone,” and promising to make their social media campaign “most importantly untraceable.”
Nathan and Jed Wallace were accused of orchestrating a digital strategy to amplify negative content about Lively while suppressing stories about Baldoni’s behavior. The campaign reportedly appeared to succeed because Lively saw the biggest downfall of her reputation in her career.
But Baldoni’s camp denied all claims and his attorney, Bryan Freedman, blamed Lively for planting “negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media” about his client.
Lively and Baldoni reached a settlement before trial
Baldoni and Lively’s legal battle ended in May 2026 when both parties reached a settlement after a court-ordered conference (via NBC).
Attorneys for Baldoni and Lively issued a joint statement acknowledging “the process presented challenges” and recognizing “concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.”
The settlement happened after U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed most of Lively’s claims, including harassment, defamation and conspiracy.
Baldoni’s countersuit against Lively and Ryan Reynolds, alleging defamation and extortion, also failed to proceed.