Embattled Blake Lively faces a fresh defamation fight after a crisis PR boss has now filed a suit against her for wrongly naming him as an alleged harasser, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Jed Wallace says he was dragged into the actress’s bitter legal battle with Justin Baldoni, 41, after she listed him as a defendant in her administrative complaint filed against her co-star in December.
Her filing described Wallace as a Texas-based contractor ‘who weaponized a digital army’ to help ‘create, seed, and promote’ social media content attacking her and defending Baldoni.
Described as a ‘precursor to a lawsuit’, the document was attached to the original civil rights complaint that Lively filed in California on December 20 to kick off legal hostilities against her It Ends with Us co-star.
When the actress’s actual federal complaint was filed 11 days later, neither Wallace nor his Street Relations crisis management firm were among those accused, his lawyers say.
But it was too late to stop media outlets wrongly naming him and his company as defendants as they relied on the version Lively’s team had already distributed to the press.
Blake Lively is facing a fresh defamation suit from a public relations specialist who claims he was wrongly named as a defendant in her ongoing bitter battle with Justin Baldoni
Jed Wallace, a PR contractor and owner of Street Relations, was described in her civil rights complaint acting as a ‘hired gun’ for Baldoni, his agent Melissa Nathan, and her PR firm, The Agency Group (TAG)
Legal filings revealed a power struggle between Lively and Baldoni unfolded on set after the actress suggested she rewrite the film’s pivotal rooftop scene (pictured)
‘Lively or her agents provided the Precursor to various media entities for out-of-court republication and, because of the allegations contained therein, it made ‘headlines around the world’ according to Elle Magazine which linked to the Precursor document as did many other media,’ Wallace’s filing says.
‘The Precursor was followed on or about December 31, 2024, by a ‘formal suit’ in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
‘Wallace and Street were widely reported to be defendants in the Formal Lawsuit although they were not, the confusion having been sown by the Precursor.’
The mix-up meant Texas-based Wallace was wrongly accused of harassment and retaliation against Lively by the media, his suit filed in Federal court states.
He is suing for emotional harm and loss of business and asking for damages exceeding $1,000,000.
A spokesperson for Lively said in a statement: ‘Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively “into oblivion” for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation.
In her complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department on December 20, Lively named Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations as a defendant
Her filing described Wallace as an independent public relations contractor who allegedly ‘weaponized a digital army’ to create and promote negative content about her
‘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.’
In his filing, Wallace says his business helps clients to ‘navigate real-life human crisis, threats, trauma and mental health concerns.’
‘It helps primarily families and individuals when they find themselves unjustly attacked, extorted, doxed, swatted, scammed or need help navigating through the most frightening situations,’ his filing explains.
While Lively, 37, didn’t list Wallace as a defendant in her December 31 lawsuit, she did accuse him within the text of acting as a ‘hired gun’ for Baldoni, his agent Melissa Nathan, and her PR firm, The Agency Group (TAG).
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,’ according to Lively’s complaint.
‘The Baldoni-Wayfarer team would then feed pieces of this manufactured content to unwitting reporters, making content go viral in order to influence public opinion and thereby cause an organic pile-on.’
Lively had no facts to support her claim that he was subcontracted by TAG to assist in an ‘unlawful retaliatory ‘social combat’ campaign against lively,’ his lawyers insist.
And yet she doubled down by asking a judge to authorize the taking of his deposition, according to his filing in Texas federal court.
‘The statements of fact, actual or implied, of and concerning Plaintiffs in the Precursor and CRD (California Civil Rights Department) Complaint are false, defamatory, made with either negligence or ‘actual malice’ and have caused millions of dollars in reputational harm including both general and special damages through emotional harm (Wallace), actual damages and real and projected loss of business (Wallace and Street) in an amount that exceeds $1,000,000,’ it states.
Wallace’s suit is the latest legal headache for Gossip Girl alum Lively as he prepares to face off against actor-director Baldoni.
Their on-screen chemistry helped It Ends with Us become a surprise hit at the box office, grossing $351million on a modest budget of $25million.
The box office hit, based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, follows Lily Bloom, a florist played by Lively, who falls in love with a charming but abusive neurosurgeon played by Baldoni, who was also the film’s director
The motion picture earned $148million in domestic box office, and $350million globally
But dueling lawsuits have since revealed how relations crumbled as Lively allegedly fought for greater artistic control and started to feel uncomfortable during intimate scenes.
She kicked off hostilities by alleging in a December 20 California civil rights complaint and a subsequent federal lawsuit that Baldoni had entered her trailer while she was topless, showed her graphic video of his wife giving birth and bit and sucked on her lips during an improvised kissing scene.
She further accused the married father-of-two of conspiring to smear her reputation, citing a text message from Nathan which read: ‘We can bury anyone.’
Her bombshell claims made global headlines thanks to the near-simultaneous publication of a 4,000-word New York Times expose that quoted heavily from the civil rights complaint.
Baldoni countersued Lively and Reynolds, turning the narrative on its head by claiming it was their team doing the smearing and asking for $400million in damages.
He accused her of twisting the meaning of his texts and emails and working in tandem with Leslie Sloane, a powerful Hollywood publicist, to plant damaging stories about him in the media.
Though the two co-stars appeared to have great chemistry on set initially, dueling lawsuits have since revealed that their feud unraveled after Lively allegedly fought Baldoni for greater artistic control
It was all a ploy, Baldoni argued, to rebuild Lively’s reputation after she came in for criticism for being prickly and difficult in interviews and promotional events.
Any negative publicity surrounding his blonde leading lady had arisen ‘organically’, his suit contends.
Baldoni also sued The New York Times for $250million, claiming it ‘relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims.’
The newspaper plans to ‘vigorously defend’ itself.
The feud took an explosive twist last month when DailyMail.com published previously unseen raw video footage of Baldoni and Lively filming a romantic dance scene as their characters Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, a pretty young florist and her charming but abusive neurosurgeon lover.
Lively’s suit alleges that Baldoni ‘leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, it smells so good’ during the interaction, which is key to her allegations.
Justin Baldoni, 41, and his team have uploaded a website showcasing text messages and other media depicting his relationship with Blake Lively amid the production of the film It Ends with Us. Baldoni pictured in LA in December
The website, thelawsuitinfo.com, includes Baldoni’s amended complaint as well as a ‘timeline of relevant events’
In the footage obtained by DailyMail.com the pair are seen engaging in what appears to be playful but professional banter between takes.
Freedman flagged the footage as proof that his client behaved appropriately and had ‘nothing to hide’. Lively countered that it confirmed her claims of harassment.
Earlier this week reports claimed Lively’s legal battles with Baldoni have taken ‘a deep emotional toll’ on the actress, 37, as well as her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, who is named in one of the suits.
Sources cited by TMZ said she has experienced ‘severe anguish’ amid the drama surrounding the production, promotion and release of the motion picture, the insider said, and she is striving ‘to get this all buttoned up.’
Baldoni, who has shared his communications with Lively over the film on a newly-released website, says the trio concocted ‘false accusations of sexual harassment’ against him.
The first court hearing in the case was held on Monday during which a federal judge admonished attorneys on both sides.
Baldoni claimed he was forced to watch the premiere in a separate room and ‘excluded from the official celebrity after-party. Above Lively is seen with her other co-star Brandon Sklenar and husband Reynolds at the August premiere in New York City
Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture, which was a hit when it arrived in theaters in August
Judge Lewis Liman ordered both parties to cease speaking publicly on the proceedings out of fears it could impact potential jury selection, and warned he could move up the slated March 9, 2026 trial date if they were unable to do so.
He also denied a move from Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds to gag Baldoni’s lawyers following the series of bombshell claims made by his legal team.
Lively’s attorneys Michael Gottlieb and Esra Hudson told DailyMail.com in a statement on Monday following court proceedings: ‘We are pleased with the result of today’s hearing and eager to move forward immediately with discovery in this case.
‘The Court granted our request that all attorneys in the matter actually follow the rule of law and not make any statements that could prejudice a jury. This case deals with serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation.’
Gottlieb and Hudson told Dailymail.com they intended to ‘hold the defendants accountable’ and ‘are confident that once all the evidence is submitted in this matter, Ms. Lively will prevail.’
Sources close to Justin Baldoni’s team had a clearly different interpretation of Monday’s hearings in remarks made to Dailymail.com.
‘The judge did not rule in Ms. Lively’s favor, what they had asked of the court was a gag order, for Blake not to be deposed by Bryan and for the entire case to be dismissed against them – none of that happened,’ insiders close to Baldoni said. ‘Therefore the court did not rule in her favor.’
They added, ‘Private individuals have suffered hugely due to celebrity Ms. Lively’s vastly untrue claims and they too, are looking forward to their day in court to show the truth.’
Baldoni’s team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website – which already has fans talking – makes things clear about the actions of both parties, marking the latest chapter in the feud between the lead stars of romantic drama.
The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.
The site that contained that revelation and others went live days prior to the first hearing for Monday.
