Part of the transcription from Blake Lively‘s deposition last month was unsealed, and it revealed Lively struggling to answer some questions put forth by Justin Baldoni‘s legal team. During her deposition in New York, she addressed the smear campaign and touched upon details of the It Ends With Us shooting, which she appeared to have forgotten most of.
She was asked about the text exchange between Baldoni’s PR team Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, where Nathan said, “We can bury her.” Lively responded that she took it to mean “reputationally.” However, she shared that when Wayfarer co-founder Steve Sarowitz made a similar comment, she feared that it might be literal. She shared:
When they said that, I felt reputationally. When [Wayfarer co-founder] Steve Sarowitz said there would be two dead bodies by the time that he was done with us, yeah, I considered that that might be literal.
She further shared that it was “terrifying” as a “mother.” Other portions of the transcript saw Baldoni’s team question Lively about social media guru Jed Wallace’s involvement in the smear campaign. When asked if Wallace had written anything defamatory about her, Lively shared that it was happening currently.
However, when asked if she could mention any particular articles, she shared that she didn’t know any specific articles. She shared, “My understanding from the documents I received is that he was a part of this campaign, which contained a lot of content.” She also shared that she didn’t read news about her or go on social media about her anymore.
She further accused that Wallace’s work was “quite clandestine.” She was further asked about a timeline of things that took place during the production of It Ends With Us. She shared that the filming kicked off in New Jersey in May 2023 and was interrupted by the Hollywood strikes of 2023.
When asked about the day when production resumed, she shared that it was in January 2024. She further clarified that most of this shooting took place in New Jersey, with only two days of filming in California. She also shared that she had no clue about any other locations other than New Jersey and California, which was bizarre considering she was a producer in the film.
Towards the end of the transcript, Lively struggled to answer the defense’s question of which negative article brought her attention to the smear campaign. She shared that it wasn’t just one article after the premiere of the film. However, the rest of her explanation remains sealed.
Justin Baldoni’s Unsealed Texts and Emails Reveal Jed Wallace’s Involvement
Justin Baldoni in a still from It Ends with Us | Credits: Sony Pictures Releasing
Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign texts and emails were unsealed after Blake Lively’s lawyers filed over 60 exhibits in New York federal court. The alleged texts and emails revealed new information, including Baldoni paying $90,000 for social media guru Jed Wallace’s services.
According to the emails obtained by Daily Mail, Wallace was hired by Wayfarer for a three-month contract, worth $30,000 per month. There were also invoices for the months of August, September, and October of 2024. Baldoni’s publicist, Melissa Nathan, wrote in another text to Jamie Heath, the CEO of Wayfarer:
Quote two $25k per month – min 3 months as it needs to seed same as above – this will be for creation of social fan engagement to go back and forth with any negative accounts, helping to change narrative and stay on track. All of this will be most importantly untraceable.
However, their later conversations also suggested that this work ended up being unnecessary due to the large amount of “organic” criticism against Lively. Lively’s team had a different opinion as they told the Mail:
There is an overwhelming amount of evidence documenting the smear campaign instigated by Justin Baldoni, Melissa Nathan, Jed Wallace and the rest of the Wayfarer Parties. All you need to do is look at Melissa Nathan’s texts, Baldoni’s responses, and Jed Wallace’s “services”.
In another unsealed conversation, Heath texted a friend that he had hired the crisis management team for $9 million. However, other sources close to Baldoni’s PR team suggested that Heath was exaggerating the numbers in that particular text.
Jed Wallace Pushes Back With a Lawsuit Against Blake Lively in Texas
Judge Lewis Liman earlier dismissed Blake Lively’s claims against social media PR specialist Jed Wallace, who allegedly assisted Baldoni in the PR campaign. Liman granted Wallace’s request to remove himself from the lawsuit, citing a lack of jurisdiction as his PR firm operated in Texas.
However, Lively filed an amended complaint and pursued her claims against Wallace and his PR firm. Wallace was present during Lively’s deposition. The social media guru denied the allegations of a smear campaign fielded against him. He continues to claim that he was only paid to monitor social media for Baldoni’s team.
Wallace went one step further and decided to sue Lively for defamation in Texas. According to Chip Babcock, Wallace’s attorney, his client never crossed paths with Lively. He shared with Daily Mail:
Mr Wallace who is a very private person has never met or spoken to Ms. Lively. Ever. He has not engaged in a smear campaign against her at any point in time.
It is currently unknown whether more details about Lively’s deposition will surface as the case moves forward. While Baldoni’s side argued that Lively fumbled on many details during her deposition, Lively’s side argued that she held together pretty well against the defense’s questions.
What do you think of the new developments in the Lively-Baldoni legal drama? Let us know in the comments below!
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