Blake Lively hit with another lawsuit as Justin Baldoni's PR specialist Jed Wallace sues her for defamation

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 after she listed him as a defendant in her administrative complaint filed against her co-star in December. Lively described Wallace in her filing 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 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. 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. Earlier this week reports claimed Lively's legal battles with Baldoni, 41, have taken 'a deep emotional toll' and on the actress, 37, as well as her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, who is named in one of the suits. Lively named Texas-based PR specialist and contractor Jed Wallace in her California Civil Rights complaint but did not include him as a defendant in her lawsuit filed in federal court.

Her filing described Wallace as an independent public relations contractor who allegedly 'weaponized a digital army' to create and promote negative content about her. Attorneys for Blake Lively indicated that that she does not want to be grilled by Justin Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman during her deposition in his $400million defamation lawsuit, new court filings reveal. 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.'.

Lively, 37, has accused Baldoni, 41, of sexual harassment, while he has fired back with a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane claiming defamation and extortion. 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 hearing in the case was held in court on Monday during which a federal judge admonished attorneys on both sides.

Judge Lewis Liman ordered both parties to cease speaking publicly on the proceedings out of fears it could impact potential jury selection, and said 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. 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 $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally. Justin Baldoni launched his own website dedicated to defending himself against Blake Lively 's sexual harassment allegations. 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.