The biggest Hollywood story for the past week has centered on It Ends With Us co-stars Justin Baldoni (who also directed the movie) and Blake Lively, who on Friday filed a legal complaint against Baldoni alleging he created a hostile environment on set and subsequently staged a coordinated PR effort to damage her reputation.
The following day, the New York Times published the details of that smear campaign.
It’s worth reading the article in full, which contains both the details of Baldoni’s alleged inappropriate behavior on set, as well as numerous incriminating text exchanges between Baldoni and his team.
In an initial planning document sent to Wayfarer and Mr. Baldoni on Aug. 2, Ms. Nathan suggested media talking points, including that Ms. Lively used an imbalance of power to take creative control of the film.
But Mr. Baldoni wanted more.
“Not in love with the document they sent,” he responded in a text exchange that included Ms. Abel and Mr. Heath. “Not sure I’m feeling the protection I felt on the call.”
Ms. Abel relayed his frustration to Ms. Nathan: “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.”
“Of course- but you know when we send over documents we can’t send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble,” Ms. Nathan responded, adding, “We can’t write we will destroy her.” –The New York Times
One (by her own account, inadvertent) player of the Blake Lively backlash is coming under particular scrutiny.
On Aug. 10, Kjersti Flaa, a Norwegian entertainment reporter, uploaded to YouTube a 2016 interview in which Ms. Lively snapped back when Ms. Flaa commented on her baby “bump” and remained testy for the rest of the conversation. Ms. Flaa titled it “The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job,” and told The Daily Mail that “it’s time that people behaving badly in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter, gets called out for it.”
It wasn’t the first time she had posted a video aligned with a client of Ms. Nathan. In 2022, in the midst of Mr. Depp’s legal battle with Ms. Heard, Ms. Flaa posted clips of her interviews with the actor, tagged #JusticeForJohnnyDepp. –The New York Times
A key factor in this entire dynamic was Baldoni’s team’s ability to play off Blake Lively’s pre-existing reputation of being annoying and even problematic. (Most notably, her wedding to Ryan Reynolds on a plantation.)
In contrast, Baldoni was given an award as recently as this month, which has now been rescinded, for demonstrating solidarity with women and girls by directing a movie about domestic violence.
Annoying or not, Blake Lively is a massively powerful person in Hollywood, and – as in the early weeks of the #MeToo era – people are calling out the implications of this story for the actors in Hollywood with far fewer protections.
The details of this situation – down to the PR company hired to smear Blake Lively – is eerily reminiscent of the massively successful campaign against actress Amber Heard, who accused her ex Johnny Depp of abuse. To editorialize for a moment, as somebody who remembers that era clearly, I vehemently co-sign all of the tweets below.
Minor Problems
On Monday morning, the U.S. House Committee on Ethics released its much anticipated report on allegations pertaining to former Representative Matt Gaetz’ relationship with underage women. The report “determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress.”
The report notes that “Victim A,” the 17-year-old girl at the heart of the report, having just finished her junior year of high school when she went to a drug-fueled party at Florida lobbyist Chris Dorworth’s house on July 15, 2017, “cooperated with DOJ’s investigation for years and was let down by the justice system when reports circulated that DOJ would be unlikely to pursue charges against Representative Gaetz.” –NOTUS
Perhaps more damning in the eyes of some Republicans than paying for sex with minors:
No… don’t… stop…
Autumn Sweaters
On Monday morning, Luigi Mangione plead not guilty to eleven state charges in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a New York City courtroom. In a statement to the court, his lawyer Karen Agnifilo called out the “prejudicial” nature of his extradition, claiming Mangione was subject to “the biggest-staged perp walk [she’s] ever seen in [her] career.” She took particular issue with New York City Mayor Eric Adams for his participation in the “spectacle.”
But the main topic of conversation was Mangione and Agnifilo’s oddly coordinated outfits.
Today on the Internet 