ABBREVIATIONS:
JB Justin Baldoni
BL Blake Lively
RR Ryan Reynolds
IEWU It Ends With Us movie
TS Taylor Swift
CH Colleen Hoover
CoE Contract of Engagement
IC Intimacy Coordinator
NR Nudity Rider
PARTIES
Colleen Hoover - Author of It Ends with Us and the sequel It Starts with Us.
Blake Lively - Actress best known for her role as Serena van der Woodsen in the hit series Gossip Girl. Wife of actor Ryan Reynolds.
Justin Baldoni - Actor best known for his role in the show Jane the Virgin and for starring and directing the movie IEWU. Co-founder of Wayfarer Studios and member of the Baha'i faith.
Wayfarer Studios - Independent production company co-founded by Justin Baldoni and Steve Sarowitz. Owner of the rights of the It Ends with US and It Starts with Us movie rights.
Jamey Heath - CEO of Wayfarer Studios and personal friend of Justin Baldoni. Member of the Baha'i faith. Being accused of making Blake Lively uncomfortable and retaliating against via the alleged smear campaign.
Steve Sarowitz - Billionaire and co-founder of Wayfarer Studios. Also a member of the Baha'i faith. Being accused of pledging to "spend 100 million to ruin" Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds" and to "protect the studio (Wayfarer) like Israel protected itself from Hamas".
Stephanie Jones PR- Head of Jonesworks, previous PR agent of Wayfarer and Justin Baldoni. Previous boss of Jen Abel, with a reputation for retaliating against previous clients or other parties who have wronged her. Disapproved of Melissa Nathan being hired as crisis PR by Wayfarer. Was displeased with Jen Abel for leaving her job to start a new company and for potentially poaching clients. Seized Abel's phone and probably leaked the contents to Lively/Sloan. Husband is a WME employee.
Jennifer Abel- Jonesworks PR branch manager in CA, Wayfarer's normal PR person, organizes events for Wayfarer, organizes media buy and story publishing and works between teams. Is being sued by Stephanie Jones for breach of contract, among other things. Is being sued by the Lively parties for carrying out the alleged smear campaign.
Melissa Nathan- crisis PR person, hired by Wayfarer, has media connections mainly due to her sister. Is being sued by the Lively parties for carrying out the alleged smear campaign.
Jed Wallace- tech nerd (?) hired by Wayfarer who can track social media traffic and spot bots/spam. Believed by the Lively parties to be the mastermind behind the untraceable smear campaign.
Leslie Sloan- Lively's PR agent. She is also being sued by the Wayfarer parties for allegedly colluding with the NYT to publish defamatory statements about Justin Baldoni and Wayfarer
WME - Talent agent company who repped Justin Baldoni and Ryan Reynolds.
Maximum Effort- marketing agency focused on movie marketing/promo and owned by Ryan Reynolds - they headed the marketing campaign for IEWU
JB’s LAWSUIT WEBSITE & LEGAL DOCUMENTS:
https://thelawsuitinfo.com/
31.01.25 https://dam.tmz.com/document/fd/o/2025/02/01/fd6320ea729e4407b2857ad9f7f4f570.pdf?_gl=1*arjw9t*_ga*ODA3MzcyMDM5LjE3Mzc3MTc1Njk.
BL’s LEGAL DOCUMENTS:
COURT DOCUMENTS:
03.01.25 Pre-trial hearing: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304/gov.uscourts.nysd.634304.50.0_2.pdf
OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED & HOW:
BRIEF TIMELINE:
09.08.2024: IEWU hits theatres. Ahead of its release, there were rumours of a feud between the director-actor and actress.
20.12.2024: BL files a sexual harassment complaint against JB with the California Civil Rights Department.
21.12.24: The New York Times story, “‘We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine” comes out with texts purportedly showing JB’s alleged campaign to tarnish BL’s reputation after she accused him of misconduct. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/business/media/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us.html?smid=url-share
31.12.2024: BL officially files a federal lawsuit against JB, his Wayfarer Studios and his publicists, alleging she was retaliated against for reporting the misconduct. JB and his publicists file a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times for libel over the article.
16.01.2025: JB countersues BL, RR and her publicist for $400 million, accusing them of defamation.
31.01.2025: JB files an amended complaint against BL, RR, her publicist and the New York Times and launches his lawsuit website.
MEDIA:
