Justin Baldoni’s attorney claims ‘leaked’ messages in Blake Lively’s lawsuit taken out of ‘critical context’

Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'

As a seasoned observer of human dynamics, I find myself deeply troubled by the ongoing saga between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. Having spent years analyzing power struggles and toxic work environments, I can’t help but feel a pang of familiarity when I read about Lively’s allegations.

Justin Baldoni’s legal representative has made a public comment regarding the text messages that surfaced in Blake Lively’s court documents.

Following the lawsuit filed by Lively, aged 37, against her It Ends With Us co-star and director for alleged sexual harassment, attorney Bryan Freedman issued a statement regarding the legal action taken.

In her explosive court case, the actress asserted that Baldoni orchestrated a damaging publicity scheme to tarnish her image. She presented communications between him and his associates as evidence supporting this accusation.

Baldoni’s lawyer said the text messages were taken out of ‘critical context.’

Additionally, he asserts that the messages were made public rather than acquired, which goes against the claim that Lively supposedly got them via a court-issued request for information.

Regarding Baldoni’s crisis management team, The Agency Group PR, whom he engaged during the turbulent It Ends With Us press tour, Freedman justified their alleged strategy of devising potential plans to harm Lively’s public image.

Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'

Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'

He implied that the blame didn’t lie with Baldoni, but instead, Lively’s actions were responsible for damaging her own reputation.

According to a statement provided to Us Weekly, the lawyer explained that TAG PR functioned just like any other crisis management agency would when engaged by a client facing threats from two exceptionally influential individuals who had virtually limitless resources.

In simpler terms, the proposed plan for scenario analysis by the TAG PR group turned out to be redundant because audiences found Lively’s personal actions, interviews, and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful. Instead of reacting as planned, they responded organically to the media coverage of these events.

In a twist of events, Freedman pointed out that while The New York Times was attempting to expose a questionable PR strategy, they unwittingly reinforced Emily Lively’s own suspect PR methods by publishing private messages devoid of crucial context – the exact approach she is criticizing the firm for using.

On Friday, December 20, Lively chose to file a lawsuit against her previous co-star; this was exactly one day prior to The New York Times releasing the related court papers.

The extensive document contained references to ‘numerous texts and emails spanning thousands of pages’, which it is said Lively acquired via a subpoena.

Regarding Freeman’s recent assertion about the alleged leak of the messages, Lively’s lawyers have likewise issued a statement to the media, confirming that the messages mentioned in their court filing were acquired through a subpoena.

The complaint mentioned a subpoena that had been served on Jonesworks LLC, as indicated in the document.

Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'
Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'

The documents mentioned in the complaint were handed over following a subpoena. It’s anticipated that more information about the subpoena procedure will become public during the discovery phase.

Among the texts mentioned in the filing, one is said to be from Baldoni’s representative – the person managing both him and Wayfarer Studios, his production company – to a specialist in crisis management.

In the message, Baldoni’s publicist said that he ‘wants to feel like she can be buried.’ 

Additionally, there was a display asserting that Baldoni had established the storyline for the online smear campaign aimed at damaging Lively’s reputation.

According to an apparent conversation transcript, he posted a screenshot from social media that seemed to concern Hailey Bieber and implied she was mistreating other women by bullying them.

Baldoni wrote: ‘This is what we would need.’

The court records submitted by Lively suggest Baldoni’s team had a strategy that exceeded typical crisis management and included an intention to carry out ‘astroturfing’. This term refers to the act of creating and spreading online content or comments, making it appear as though they were written by ordinary individuals, but in reality, they originate from a specific company or political group.

According to reports, Taylor Swift, who is friends with Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, was also said to have been referred to in a strategy document prepared by Baldoni’s team.

Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'
Justin Baldoni's attorney claims 'leaked' messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit taken out of 'critical context'

One alleged message read: ‘Our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to “bully” into getting what they want.’ 

Besides accusing Baldoni of orchestrating a defamatory campaign, Lively additionally asserted that he established an unfriendly work atmosphere and made inappropriate sexual advances towards her during the filming of It Ends With Us.

Following what appeared to be unacceptable conduct on his part, she chose to keep her distance during their chilly public appearances together.

As tensions on set grew apparent to fans, it is said that Baldoni felt ‘anxious’ about his actions potentially being revealed. In response, he allegedly enlisted his crisis management team to start strategizing potential situations.

Baldoni has denied all of the accusations.

Following the lawsuit by Lively, his lawyer issued a statement labeling her accusations as ‘entirely baseless, excessively sensational, and deliberately scandalous.’ Freedman further asserted that she initiated the suit merely for the purpose of repairing her damaged public image.

Vibrant issued a comment to The New York Times regarding her lawsuit, saying: ‘I wish that my court case will help expose these underhanded strategies intended to punish individuals who report misbehavior, thereby safeguarding others who might face similar retaliation.’

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2024-12-24 04:33

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