Blake Lively, the 37-year-old actress, is facing fresh legal challenges in her ongoing dispute with her *It Ends With Us* co-star Justin Baldoni. 

On February 4, publicist Jed Wallace, who works for the Texas-based crisis-management firm Street Relations, Inc., filed a defamation lawsuit against Lively. 

This lawsuit is the latest development in the contentious legal battle that began after Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation against Baldoni.

Wallace’s lawsuit stems from a petition Lively filed on January 21, in which she requested a deposition from Wallace. 

However, just days later, Lively rescinded that request on February 4. 

In her December 2024 civil rights complaint, Lively’s legal team accused Wallace of being involved in a smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni’s public relations team. 

The lawsuit filed by Wallace alleges that Lively’s accusations have caused significant harm to both him and his firm, Street Relations, Inc.

According to Lively’s civil rights complaint, Wallace was allegedly tasked with “weaponizing a digital army” across various cities, including New York and Los Angeles. The goal was to generate and promote social media content and online discussions that appeared authentic but were actually part of a coordinated effort to damage Lively’s reputation. Wallace’s legal team has strongly denied these accusations, asserting that Lively has no evidence to support her claims against him.

In his defamation lawsuit, Wallace seeks a minimum of $7 million in damages, along with a court order that would clear his name, declaring that he did not engage in any form of harassment or retaliation against Lively. The lawsuit also contends that the accusations made in Lively’s civil rights complaint were defamatory, alleging that they were made with “negligence or actual malice,” leading to significant emotional and reputational harm. Wallace’s filing claims that the statements have caused substantial damages to both his personal reputation and his business, including lost revenue and projected financial loss.

Wallace’s legal team, led by attorney Chip Babcock, is taking a strong stance against Lively’s accusations. Babcock emphasized that Wallace, a private individual, has never met or spoken to Lively, nor has he been involved in any sort of smear campaign against her. The lawsuit was filed, Babcock says, to protect Wallace’s reputation and to address the harm caused by Lively’s initial legal actions in Texas. He further indicated that the decision to pursue legal action became necessary after Lively’s petition to name Wallace in a potential additional lawsuit.

Lively’s legal team has responded to the lawsuit with defiance, asserting that this is just another attempt to intimidate her into silence. “Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation,” said her legal representatives in a statement. They have positioned the lawsuit as a form of “transparent retaliation” in response to the sexual harassment and retaliation complaint Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). 

Lively’s lawyers also expressed confidence that the defamation lawsuit would ultimately be dismissed. “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,” they added, suggesting that the actress intends to pursue further legal action against those she believes have been involved in the campaign to damage her reputation.

The ongoing legal saga between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni dates back to December 2024, when Lively filed her sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni. In her filing, Lively accused Baldoni of misconduct during the production of *It Ends With Us* and alleged that a retaliatory smear campaign followed, aimed at ruining her career and personal life. Baldoni, 41, has firmly denied the allegations, and the dispute has since escalated, drawing in several individuals connected to Baldoni’s PR team, including Wallace.

As this legal battle continues, both Lively and Baldoni face intense public scrutiny, with the matter expected to be further explored in court. With Wallace’s defamation lawsuit now added to the mix, it seems that this legal confrontation is far from over. The unfolding drama serves as a reminder of the complexities involved in high-profile legal disputes and the reputational risks that come with them.

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