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One of the crisis management specialists allegedly employed by Justin Baldoni has filed their own lawsuit against Blake Lively, accusing the actress of defamation.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jed Wallace of Street Relations filed the federal complaint Tuesday in a Texas court; while Wallace was not named as a defendant in Lively’s initial lawsuit against Baldoni and others, he was recently deposed by the actress’ legal team.
Lively’s lawsuit claimed that Wallace was responsible for helping to create artificial content and “weaponized a digital army” on social media platforms that both attacked her and defended Baldoni amid the It Ends With Us rumors and fallout.
“As Lively later admitted she knew of no facts to support the allegations,” Wallace’s lawyer Charles Babcock wrote in the complaint. “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. Neither could they have breached a contract with Lively because no such contract exists.”
Wallace is seeking $7 million in the lawsuit, which also seeks to establish that he had no part in the alleged harassment campaign against the actress.
In response to the lawsuit, Lively’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb told THR, “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.”
Lively has accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set ofIt Ends With Usandorchestrating a smear campaignagainst her. She first leveled these claims in aprecursor complaintfiled with the California Civil Rights Department, before filing her lawsuit.
Baldoni has denied these claims and has, in turn,filed his own suitagainst Lively, accusing her of defamation, extortion, and invasion of privacy. Baldoni and several others havealso suedThe New York Timesfor libel and false light invasion of privacy over its story about Lively’s sexual harassment and smear campaign claims.
The competing Lively-Baldoni lawsuits are expected to head to court in 2026.
