Inside the alleged public relations campaign designed to ruin Blake Lively’s reputation

New court documents accuse actor Justin Baldoni of unleashing the public relations dark arts to destroy co-star Blake Lively’s reputation. Here’s how it allegedly unfolded.

Text messages between actor Justin Baldoni and the crisis public relations team he allegedly engaged to ruin co-star Blake Lively’s reputation have been published online, giving a rare insight into the dark arts used to manipulate fans and sway public opinion.

Lively, 37, has launched legal action against her It Ends With Us co-star Baldoni, 40, accusing him of multiple counts of sexual harassment on set, including adding gratuitous sex scenes, improvising kissing without consent and showing her images and videos of naked women.

Blake Lively poses at a London gala screening of It Ends With Us. Picture: AFP

Lively is a much bigger star than Baldoni, with a glittering filmography, brand endorsements, multiple businesses and clout in the form of friends such as Taylor Swift and Hugh Jackman.

The film focused on domestic violence and required the actress to perform in a number of vulnerable scenes, including sex scenes and a birthing scene, with some nudity.

Lively has also accused Baldoni, who doubled as the movie’s director, of launching a smear campaign and tendered evidence that he tried to shred her reputation before the premiere.

It Ends With Us, which made an estimated US$350 million (A$560 million) at the box office coincided with an unusually high amount of negative press around the actress.

Lively was branded difficult to work with, tone-deaf to the sensitivities of domestic violence and a bully towards journalists, facing calls for her to be “cancelled”.

Justin Baldoni is accused of sexually harassing Blake Lively. Picture: Getty Images

Legal documents allege Lively raised red flags multiple times during production, even calling for safeguards such as an intimacy co-ordinator to choreograph and manage sex scenes.

The New York Times reports producer Jamey Heath also signed a letter, separate to her contract, to say the studio agreed not to retaliate against the actress for her requests.

However, court papers allege Baldoni and Heath engaged a PR shark to take her down.

The documents include excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails Lively’s legal team obtained via subpoena and give insight into their alleged playbook.

“You know we can bury anyone,” said crisis management expert Melissa Nathan.

Ms Nathan has represented a number of high-profile clients, including actor Johnny Depp, who successfully sued ex-wife Amber Heard for defamation in 2022.

Lively, 37, is a Hollywood A-lister, pictured with actor and close friend Hugh Jackman (L) and husband Ryan Reynolds (R) at the film’s premiere in New York. Picture: Getty Images

The actress is also friends with megastar Taylor Swift. Picture: Robert Kamau/GC Images

The campaign allegedly started in May, when Baldoni noticed Reynolds had blocked him on social media and asked his advisors to create a plan in case Lively did the same.

The exchange started with talking points accusing Lively of taking creative control of the film, but text message show Baldoni asking for a tougher approach with more protection.

“I think you guys need to be tough and show the strength of what you guys can do in these scenarios. He wants to feel like she can be buried,” texted his publicist, Jennifer Abel.

Ms Nathan responded by indicating her team could dial up the response, but expressed concern about sending the documents via email or text, saying it could be “trouble”.

“We can’t write we will destroy her,” she wrote.

“Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands.”

Lively and Baldoni shoot a scene in It Ends With Us. She claims she raised red flags early about the toxic working environment on set. Picture: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

However, the exchange shows she proposed swaying public opinion through “full social account take downs” and planting “threads of theories” that would be “untraceable”.

The result was a strategy Ms Abel called a “social combat plan” and when Lively unfollowed Baldoni on Instagram, the text exchange indicates they were ready to press play.

“I’m having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with. Just to get ahead of it,” Ms Abel texted Ms Nathan in August.

Ms Nathan replied saying she had already spoken to a newspaper editor off the record.

On top of that, court papers indicate that while the film’s marketing team instructed Lively to focus on the positive and avoid discussing domestic violence, Baldoni’s interviews highlighted survivors, making her appear to be out of touch while he was praised for his sensitivity.

Lively and Reynolds have an estimated combined net worth of US$380 million (A$607 million) and share four children. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

The text messages also indicate the presence of a multi-layered digital “social manipulation” campaign orchestrated by a shadowy “hired gun” called Jed Wallace.

The negative press had a financial impact on Lively, who launched her new beauty brand Blake Brown in August, at around the same time the film came out.

The highly anticipated hair-care line debuted with enormous sales, which reportedly declined by almost 80 per cent amid the onslaught of critical media coverage.

Lively and Reynolds have an estimated combined net worth of US$380 million (A$607 million) due to their success on screen as well as their multiple businesses.

The pair share four children, daughters James, 10, Inez, 8, and Betty, 5, and son Olin, 1, who Lively was still breastfeeding while It Ends With Us was filmed.