Unsealed Texts Reveal Baldoni's $90K PR Campaign Amid Lively Smear Allegations

Newly unsealed court documents reveal that Justin Baldoni and his team orchestrated an extensive and costly crisis management and social media campaign during a public feud with co-star Blake Lively. Baldoni's business partner Jamey Heath hired PR contractor Jed Wallace, paying him $30,000 per month for three months, totaling $90,000, to create largely "untraceable" social media engagement designed to counteract negative online accounts and promote pro-Baldoni narratives. The strategy involved using anonymous accounts to seed content and redirect criticism away from Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, although much of the effort was reportedly unnecessary due to widespread organic criticism of Lively, particularly after her controversial promotional remarks. Lively's legal team submitted over 60 exhibits that include text messages and emails showing coordination between Baldoni's publicist Melissa Nathan and Wallace, with discussions of social media tactics described as "social and digital mitigation and remediation." While Lively's camp calls this evidence of a smear campaign, Wallace's attorney denies involvement in any smear efforts, asserting his role was limited to monitoring social media narratives. The dispute has highlighted the deteriorating relationship between Baldoni and Lively, with Baldoni expressing concern about working with Lively and attempting to subpoena Taylor Swift amid the ongoing lawsuit.