Dec. 21, 2025

The Top 10 Crime and Justice Stories Of The Year #1 - "WE CAN BURY ANYONE: BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI AND THE HOLLYWOOD SMEAR MACHINE"

Show Notes
Transcript

Reid Carter counts down #3 on the Top 10 Crime and Justice Stories of 2025: Blake Lively versus Justin Baldoni. December 2024: Lively accused her "It Ends With Us" director of sexual harassment and orchestrating a digital smear campaign after she complained about on-set misconduct. Text messages revealed crisis PR planning: "You know we can bury anyone." Baldoni countersued for $400 million claiming defamation. June 2025: Judge dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit entirely. Trial now set for May 2026. Lively seeking $500 million. The case that exposed Hollywood's dark underbelly of crisis PR, astroturfing, and reputation warfare in the social media age.

Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll!

Join the Celebrity Trials community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most shocking cases in America.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram by searching "Celebrity Trials Podcast" on either platform.

You'll get exclusive behind-the-scenes content, breaking news updates on cases we're covering, and early alerts when new episodes drop. Our social media is where Reid Carter's hottest takes live, including reactions that don't make it into the show.

But more importantly, it's where YOU come in. Share your theories, debate the verdicts, and connect with fellow listeners who are just as obsessed with justice as you are. Did the jury get it right? What questions do you still have? Your comments and insights often shape future episodes.

We cover the trials that matter, but our community makes the conversation unforgettable. Come for Reid's signature cynical commentary, stay for the incredible discussions with thousands of true crime fans who get it.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:12.679
Callaroga Shark Media, Good morning, I'm read Carter. Sunday, December

2
00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:16.120
twenty first, twenty twenty five. We're counting down the top

3
00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:19.280
ten crime and justice stories of twenty twenty five Today

4
00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:24.120
number three August twenty twenty four. It ends with US

5
00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:27.839
premieres three hundred and fifty one million dollars at the

6
00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:32.280
global box office. A massive hit based on Colleen Hoover's

7
00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:36.679
best selling novel about domestic abuse. Stars Blake Lively and

8
00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:41.000
Justin Baldoni. Baldoni also directed, should be a triumph for

9
00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:46.359
everyone involved. Instead, fans notice something strange during the press tour.

10
00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:50.520
Baldoni is doing interviews alone. Lively is surrounded by her

11
00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.280
other co stars. They never appear together, never interact on

12
00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:58.240
red carpets. Something is wrong. Then the internet turns on

13
00:00:58.399 --> 00:01:04.079
Blake Lively, seemingly overnight old clips resurface interviews where she

14
00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:08.719
seems dismissive about domestic violence themes, a comment using an

15
00:01:08.719 --> 00:01:12.840
offensive term from her gossip Girl days, TikTok videos calling

16
00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:17.560
her difficult entitled Adiva. Her hair care company, Blake Brown Beauty,

17
00:01:17.799 --> 00:01:20.680
sees sales drop nearly eighty percent in a single month.

18
00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:24.959
Was it organic? Backlash from disappointed fans or something more sinister.

19
00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:30.200
December twentieth, twenty twenty four, Blake Lively files a complaint

20
00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:34.319
with the California Civil Rights Department accuses Justin Baldoni of

21
00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.319
sexual harassment on set. Accuses him and his production company

22
00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:43.200
Wayfarer Studios of orchestrating a coordinated smear campaign to destroy

23
00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:48.319
her reputation after she complained. The complaint includes text messages

24
00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:53.359
obtained through subpoena between Baldoni's crisis pr team planning how

25
00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.680
to handle Lively if she went public. You know, we

26
00:01:56.760 --> 00:02:01.239
can bury anyone, crisis manager Melissa Nathan texted to Baldoni's publicist.

27
00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.920
The New York Times publishes a devastating expose the next day, headline,

28
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:12.960
we can bury anyone inside a Hollywood smear machine. Baldoni

29
00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:18.879
denies everything, calls the allegations categorically false, sues The New

30
00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:22.840
York Times for two hundred and fifty million dollars. Sues Lively,

31
00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:26.719
her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist for four hundred

32
00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:30.280
million dollars. Claims they're the ones running a smear campaign

33
00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:35.240
against him. Dueling lawsuits hundreds of millions of dollars sexual

34
00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:41.879
harassment allegations, text messages, planning digital warfare, celebrity publicists plotting

35
00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:46.000
to destroy their client's co star. This is Hollywood's ugliest

36
00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.879
battle in years, and it's headed to trial. I'm Red

37
00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:54.479
Carter today, number three on our countdown. Blake Lively versus

38
00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:58.319
Justin Baldoni, the case that pulled back the curtain on crisis,

39
00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.439
pr astroturfing, and and how reputations are manufactured and destroyed

40
00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:08.759
in the age of social media. This is Celebrity Trials.

41
00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:13.919
Let's start at the beginning. May twenty twenty three. Production

42
00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:17.120
begins on It ends with us in Hoboken, New Jersey.

43
00:03:17.960 --> 00:03:22.000
Justin Baldoni, forty years old, known for the TV series

44
00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:26.120
Jane the Virgin, founded Wayfarer Studios with his business partner

45
00:03:26.199 --> 00:03:31.080
Jamie Heath, secured the rights to Colleen Hoover's novel, directing

46
00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:35.800
his first major studio film, also starring as Ryle Kincaid,

47
00:03:36.280 --> 00:03:40.360
the charming neurosurgeon who becomes an abusive husband. Blake Lively

48
00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:45.159
thirty seven years old, Gossip Girl The Sisterhood of the

49
00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:51.479
Traveling Pants, a simple favor married to Ryan Reynolds, four children,

50
00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.319
serving as star and producer. On the film. According to

51
00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:59.960
Lively's complaint, problems started almost immediately. She alleges Baldonis show

52
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.319
her nude videos and images of women on set, that

53
00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:05.919
he discussed his sexual conquests in front of her and

54
00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:09.479
the crew, that he and producer Jamie Heath talked openly

55
00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:13.319
about their past pornography addiction. She alleges Heath showed her

56
00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:17.040
a video of his wife giving birth while naked without

57
00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:21.680
any apparent professional reason. She alleges Baldoni made comments about

58
00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.720
her weight to her fitness trainer after she'd recently given

59
00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:27.560
birth to her fourth child. That he claimed he could

60
00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:31.600
communicate with dead people, including her father, Ernie Lively, who

61
00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:35.560
had passed away in twenty twenty one. She alleges both

62
00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:39.680
men repeatedly entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed.

63
00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:43.279
On one occasion, Heath allegedly walked in while she was

64
00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.920
topless and having body makeup removed. When she asked him

65
00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.560
to keep his back turned, she claims he kept staring

66
00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:54.399
at her directly, and she alleges Baldoni improvised physical intimacy

67
00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:59.920
during scenes that hadn't been rehearsed or discussed. Unwonted kissing, touching,

68
00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.560
and that went beyond what was scripted. Production paused in

69
00:05:04.639 --> 00:05:07.879
June twenty twenty three due to the writer's strike, then

70
00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.040
again in July when the actors strike began. By then,

71
00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:15.560
according to Lively, the problems had become unbearable. January fourth,

72
00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:20.399
twenty twenty four, before filming resumed, an all hands meeting

73
00:05:20.519 --> 00:05:26.759
was convened. Attendees included Lively, Baldoni, Jamie Heath, Sony Pictures executives,

74
00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:32.120
and notably Ryan Reynolds, Lively's husband, who was not involved

75
00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:35.600
in the production but apparently felt his presence was necessary

76
00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:38.959
at that meeting. According to the complaint, Lively laid out

77
00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:42.439
specific demands for returning to work. No more showing nude

78
00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:45.680
videos or images of women to her, No more discussions

79
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:49.000
about sexual conquests in front of her or others. No

80
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:52.879
further mentions of cast and cruised Genitalia, no more inquiries

81
00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:55.879
about her weight, no further mention of her dead father.

82
00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:02.079
Sony Pictures approved the demands. Baldonian Wi allegedly agreed. A

83
00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.959
contractual writer was added, promising to implement safeguards and stating

84
00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.439
Lively would not be retaliated against for raising her concerns.

85
00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:15.240
Production resumed, the film wrapped. Post production began, but according

86
00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:19.120
to Lively, the relationship had already fractured beyond repair and

87
00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:33.160
the retaliation was just beginning. Make it Make sense, August

88
00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:37.120
twenty twenty four. It ends with US is about to premiere,

89
00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.000
the press tour is under way, and something strange is happening.

90
00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:45.879
According to court filings, Justin Baldoni retained crisis PR manager

91
00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.040
Melissa Nathan and her firm, The Agency Group, in early August.

92
00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:54.319
Nathan is a specialist. She'd previously worked for Johnny Depp

93
00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.720
during his defamation trial against Amber Hurd. She knows how

94
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.959
to fight reputation battles. Why would Baldoni need Crisis PR

95
00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:05.639
for what should be a celebratory movie launch, because, according

96
00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:08.759
to Lively's complaint, he was worried she might go public

97
00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:13.199
with her allegations. Text messages between Nathan and Baldoni's longtime

98
00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:17.879
publicist Jennifer Abel, obtained through subpoena and included in court filings,

99
00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:23.160
paint a picture of sophisticated reputation warfare August second, twenty

100
00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:27.560
twenty four. Able texts Nathan about Baldoni's concerns. He's worried

101
00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:30.959
there's not much defense in their planning document if Lively

102
00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:34.839
goes on the offensive. Nathan responds carefully, we can't write

103
00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:37.800
it down to him. We can't write we will destroy her.

104
00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.319
He has to look at it as an information document

105
00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:43.240
for us to be armed with. That's all. Imagine if

106
00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:45.360
a document saying all the things that he wants ends

107
00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:49.079
up in the wrong hands. Then she adds, you know,

108
00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:52.199
we can bury anyone, but I can't write that to him.

109
00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:57.120
That text we can bury anyone became the headline for

110
00:07:57.160 --> 00:08:00.560
the New York Times expose that would eventually blow this

111
00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:06.000
case wide open. Two days later, August fourth Able confides

112
00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.560
to Nathan, I'm having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant

113
00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:12.600
pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with,

114
00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.680
just to get ahead of it. The same day, Baldoni

115
00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:19.399
sends his PR team a screenshot of a viral Twitter

116
00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:23.600
thread about Hailey Bieber's history of bullying many women. The

117
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:28.360
thread had over nineteen million views. Baldoni's message, this is

118
00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:31.560
what we would need. He was suggesting they needed the

119
00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:36.519
same kind of viral pylon against Lively. According to the complaint,

120
00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:39.240
Nathan proposed a four month battle plan with a one

121
00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.000
hundred and seventy five thousand dollars price tag. The strategy

122
00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.440
included plans to start threads of theories on platforms like

123
00:08:46.519 --> 00:08:51.120
Reddit and TikTok favorable to Baldoni, to create social fan engagement,

124
00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:54.000
to go back and forth with any negative accounts, helping

125
00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:59.039
to change narrative and stay on track. They allegedly retained

126
00:08:59.159 --> 00:09:03.879
Jed Wallace, described in court documents as a digital army specialist,

127
00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:08.159
for thirty thousand dollars per month. According to unsealed texts,

128
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:13.279
Nathan told Heath that Wallace's work would be untraceable. As

129
00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:18.240
the premiere approached, negative content about Lively exploded across social media.

130
00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:23.679
Old interviews resurfaced. Comments she'd made years ago were recontextualized

131
00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:27.759
as evidence of her being difficult, dismissive, or tone deaf

132
00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:32.799
about domestic violence, the very subject of her film. August ninth,

133
00:09:32.799 --> 00:09:36.440
twenty twenty four, The film opens to fifty million dollars,

134
00:09:36.720 --> 00:09:40.639
a massive success, but the narrative around Lively is toxic.

135
00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:45.600
August ninth, Able texts Nathan, so are we in the clear? Now?

136
00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:50.840
Did we survive? Nathan responds, we survived. All press is

137
00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:56.039
so overwhelming. We've confused people so much mixed messaging. It's

138
00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:59.600
actually really funny if you think about it. The next day,

139
00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:04.759
they discussed shifting the narrative to focus on reactions from

140
00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:09.519
domestic violence survivors, positioning Baldoni as the champion of the

141
00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:14.200
film's message while Lively was being dragged for allegedly trivializing it.

142
00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:17.639
Nathan wrote to Abel, the majority of socials are so

143
00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.480
pro Justin, and I don't even agree with half of

144
00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:25.919
them lol. August sixteenth, the Daily Mail publishes an article

145
00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.360
with the headline is Blake Lively set to be canceled?

146
00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:34.360
Nathan shares the link with Abel. Abel responds, Wow, you

147
00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:39.159
really outdid yourself with this piece. Nathan's reply, That's why

148
00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:43.879
you hired me, right, I'm the best. According to Lively's complaint,

149
00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:47.720
her Blake Brown Beauty haircare company saw sales plummet nearly

150
00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:51.159
eighty percent in August twenty twenty four as the online

151
00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:56.639
attacks peaked. Her beverage company also allegedly suffered endorsement deals

152
00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:02.240
dried up, speaking engagements disappeared. Now Baldoni's team has a

153
00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:06.559
very different story. Jennifer Abel, in a since deleted Facebook post,

154
00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:10.320
that was preserved and verified by Rolling Stone. Acknowledged that

155
00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:14.399
they had discussed various strategies, but she denied implementing a

156
00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:18.639
smear campaign. No negative press was ever facilitated, no social

157
00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:21.440
combat plan, although we were prepared for it, as it's

158
00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:24.600
our job to be ready for any scenario, Abel wrote,

159
00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:28.000
But we didn't have to implement anything because the Internet

160
00:11:28.120 --> 00:11:32.720
was doing the work for us. She admitted. They sophomorically

161
00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:35.960
reveled and again joked privately to each other about the

162
00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:38.759
Internet's feedback to the woman whose team was making our

163
00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:44.000
lives incredibly difficult. Brian Friedman, the attorney representing Baldoni and

164
00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:47.519
his PR team, called the text messages cherry picked and

165
00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:52.799
altered communications stripped of necessary context. He said Nathan operated

166
00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.320
as any other crisis management firm would when hired by

167
00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:00.759
a client experiencing threats by two extremely powerful people with

168
00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:05.200
unlimited resources. So who's telling the truth? Was there a

169
00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:09.320
coordinated smear campaign or did the Internet organically turn on

170
00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.600
Blake Lively for legitimate reasons. That's what the trial will decide.

171
00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:27.320
Truth is stranger than fiction. December twentieth, twenty twenty four,

172
00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:30.799
Blake Lively files her complaint with the California Civil Rights

173
00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:38.360
Department ten claims sexual harassment, hostile work, environment, retaliation. December

174
00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:42.000
twenty first, The New York Times publishes We Can Bury

175
00:12:42.080 --> 00:12:46.720
Anyone Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, a detailed expose based

176
00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:50.600
on Lively's complaint and the text messages she'd obtained. Hollywood

177
00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.639
takes sides. Sony Pictures, the film's distributor, releases a statement

178
00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:58.960
supporting Lively. Lively's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co stars

179
00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:03.879
America Forereasara, Amber Tamblin Alexis Bledel issue a joint statement

180
00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:07.360
of support. Director Paul Fige, who worked with Lively on

181
00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:12.000
a Simple Favor, defends her. Baldoni's Voices of Solidarity award

182
00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.279
from the Vital Voices organization, given for his work as

183
00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:19.799
a male ally to women, is rescinded. December twenty fourth,

184
00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:24.559
twenty twenty four, Baldoni's former publicist, Stephanie Jones, files her

185
00:13:24.559 --> 00:13:28.080
own lawsuit. She alleges that Abel and Nathan, who were

186
00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:32.120
her employees, conspired to undermine her firm while planning the

187
00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:35.360
Lively smear campaign. She claims she was forced to stop

188
00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:39.759
representing Baldoni over concerns about his conduct. December thirty first,

189
00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:43.559
twenty twenty four, two major developments. On the same day,

190
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.200
Lively files a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of

191
00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:53.559
New York names Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, Jamie Heath, Melissa Nathan,

192
00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:59.279
Jennifer Abel and Wayfarer co founder Steve Sarrowitz, alleges sexual

193
00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:03.720
harassment and retaliation under federal and California state law. The

194
00:14:03.799 --> 00:14:07.399
same day, Baldoni fires back sues The New York Times

195
00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.399
for two hundred and fifty million dollars for libel claims

196
00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:13.480
the newspaper conspired with Lively's team to publish a one

197
00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:19.120
sided story using cherry picked evidence. January sixteenth, twenty twenty five,

198
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:23.440
Baldoni escalates further files a four hundred million dollar lawsuit

199
00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:29.000
against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Lively's publicist Leslie Sloane, claims defamation,

200
00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:34.080
civil extortion, interference with contracts. The suit accuses Lively and

201
00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:37.240
Reynolds of trying to steal an entire film right out

202
00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.639
of the hands of its director and production studio. Claims

203
00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:44.320
they wanted creative control and retaliated when they didn't get it.

204
00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:48.639
Baldoni's team releases footage from the set footage of intimate

205
00:14:48.679 --> 00:14:53.399
scenes being filmed, claiming it contradicts Lively's allegations about improvised

206
00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:58.320
physical contact. Lively's lawyers respond that the footage actually corroborates

207
00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:02.840
her claims, showing by Baldoni repeatedly leaning in toward Miss

208
00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:07.399
Lively attempting to kiss her without prior discussion or an

209
00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:14.879
intimacy coordinator present. January twenty third, twenty twenty five, Lively's

210
00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:18.519
team files a motion for a gag order against Baldoni's attorney,

211
00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:22.960
Brian Friedman. They accuse him of continuing the smear campaign

212
00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:27.399
through media appearances and strategic leaks. The judge imposes what's

213
00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:31.440
called the Empire State Rule, prohibiting both sides from making

214
00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:36.639
statements that could influence potential jurors. Neither side stops fighting

215
00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:43.080
subpoena's fly. Lively subpoena's celebrity blogger Perez Hilton for communications

216
00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.840
with Baldoni's team, alleging he may have participated in the

217
00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:51.639
smear campaign. Hilton denies it, files a motion to quash

218
00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.480
Jed Wallace, the Digital Army specialist, sues Lively for defamation

219
00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.759
in Texas, claims he never met or spoke with her,

220
00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:03.879
and was only hired to monitor social media, not orchestrate attacks.

221
00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:08.039
Taylor Swift gets dragged in Baldoni's team subpoenas her as

222
00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:11.080
a potential witness. She contributed a song to the film's

223
00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.360
soundtrack and is Lively's close friend. Swift's spokesperson responds that

224
00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:17.600
she never set foot on the set and was not

225
00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:22.080
involved in any casting or creative decisions. Lively's amended complaint

226
00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:25.960
reveals that Nathan's scenario planning document from August twenty twenty

227
00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:30.000
four specifically mentioned Swift, referring to her as a bully

228
00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.879
and calling for strategies to influence the TS fanbase. Lively's

229
00:16:34.919 --> 00:16:39.200
lawyers accused Baldoni of trying to exploit Miss Swift's popularity

230
00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:44.720
as a distraction. June ninth, twenty twenty five, The Hammer Drops.

231
00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.559
Judge Lewis Lyman dismisses Baldoni's four hundred million dollar lawsuit

232
00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:53.720
against Lively entirely also dismisses his lawsuit against The New

233
00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.919
York Times. The judge finds that Lively's accusations of sexual

234
00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:01.720
harassment are legally protected because they were made as part

235
00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:05.160
of a legal proceeding. You can't sue someone for defamation

236
00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:09.680
over allegations they made in a lawsuit, Lyneman writes, even

237
00:17:09.720 --> 00:17:12.680
if they turn out to be unneeded, an employee can

238
00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:17.000
insist on protections at workplace for sexual harassment without being

239
00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:22.240
accused of extortion. Baldoni's attorney vows to march forward and

240
00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:28.559
file amended complaints, but he never does. November three, twenty

241
00:17:28.640 --> 00:17:33.400
twenty five, the court formally closes Baldoni's lawsuit. He has

242
00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:37.440
no active claims against Lively, but Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni

243
00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:43.359
is very much alive. December ninth, twenty twenty five, the

244
00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:48.039
trial is postponed. Originally scheduled for March twenty twenty six,

245
00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:52.519
it's moved to May eighteenth, twenty twenty six, because criminal

246
00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:56.000
cases take precedent on the court's docket. The judge recommends

247
00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:00.519
both sides explore settlement. Neither seems interested. Lively is seeking

248
00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:05.839
approximately five hundred million dollars in damages, lost earnings, business losses,

249
00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:10.880
emotional distress, punitive damages. Baldoni has filed a motion for

250
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.240
summary judgment, trying to get the case dismissed before trial.

251
00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:19.039
Oral arguments are scheduled for January twenty second, twenty twenty six,

252
00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:28.519
your tax dollars at work. This case matters beyond Hollywood gossip.

253
00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:32.480
It matters because it exposed something most people didn't know existed,

254
00:18:33.119 --> 00:18:38.839
the crisis pr industrial complex. Melissa Nathan worked for Johnny

255
00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:42.960
Depp during his defamation trial against Amber Herd. That trial

256
00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:47.759
became a social media phenomenon. Pro depth content flooded TikTok

257
00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:52.559
Anti Herd, hashtags trended for weeks. Heard became one of

258
00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:56.000
the most reviled women on the Internet. At the time.

259
00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:00.079
Many assumed the online response was organic fans supporting an

260
00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:03.599
actor they loved. People skeptical of Hurd's claims. Now we

261
00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:06.880
know there are professionals whose entire job is manufacturing that

262
00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:12.079
kind of response, astro turfing, making coordinated campaigns look like

263
00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:17.559
grassroots movements, social fan engagement, creating fake accounts to argue

264
00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:22.799
with critics, starting threads of theories, seating narratives that spread organically.

265
00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.359
Once planted one hundred and seventy five thousand dollars for

266
00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:29.880
a four month battle plan, thirty thousand dollars per month

267
00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:34.680
for untraceable social media work. This is what reputation warfare

268
00:19:34.759 --> 00:19:38.480
costs in twenty twenty five, and it's not just celebrities.

269
00:19:38.640 --> 00:19:43.319
Political campaigns use these tactics. Corporations use them. Anyone with

270
00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:46.839
enough money can hire digital mercenaries to shape public opinion.

271
00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:50.880
The Lively Baldoni case pulled back that curtain showed. The

272
00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:55.039
text messages revealed. The planning documents put names and dollar

273
00:19:55.079 --> 00:19:59.079
figures on something that usually operates in shadows. Amber Heard

274
00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:03.240
notably issued statement after Lively's complaint became public, called the

275
00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:08.119
alleged smear campaign horrifying. Said social media's role in destroying

276
00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:11.279
reputations is the gift that keeps on giving to those

277
00:20:11.319 --> 00:20:15.200
who want to hurt women. Whether you believe Lively or Baldoni,

278
00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:19.920
and reasonable people can disagree, the text messages exist. We

279
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.400
can bury anyone. That's why you hired me, right, I'm

280
00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:28.960
the best. These aren't allegations, these are their own words.

281
00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:32.000
The question for the jury won't just be whether Baldoni

282
00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:35.400
harassed Lively on set. It will be whether the retaliation

283
00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:39.119
she faced, the online pile on the business losses, the

284
00:20:39.160 --> 00:20:43.240
reputation damage was the result of a coordinated campaign or

285
00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:48.119
organic backlash. If it was coordinated, that's actionable. That's retaliation

286
00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.680
that could be worth hundreds of millions in damages if

287
00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:55.519
it was organic. If the Internet genuinely turned on Blake

288
00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:59.640
Lively for legitimate reasons, then Baldoni's team did nothing wrong

289
00:20:59.680 --> 00:21:05.359
by monitoring it and celebrating privately. May eighteenth, twenty twenty six,

290
00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:11.680
twelve jurors will decide make it make sense. That's number

291
00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:14.480
three on our countdown of the top ten crime and

292
00:21:14.680 --> 00:21:19.680
justice stories of twenty twenty five. Blake Lively versus Justin Baldoni,

293
00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:22.720
a three hundred and fifty one million dollar movie that

294
00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:27.839
became a legal war, sexual harassment allegations, a smear campaign

295
00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:32.119
planned in text messages, dueling lawsuits totaling over six hundred

296
00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:36.440
million dollars in claimed damages. June twenty twenty five, the

297
00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:41.200
judge dismissed Baldoni's countersuit entirely. His four hundred million dollar

298
00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:45.359
claim against Lively gone. His lawsuit against The New York

299
00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:50.960
Times dismissed, but Lively's case survives. Trial scheduled for May eighteenth,

300
00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:55.359
twenty twenty six, five hundred million dollars on the line.

301
00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.359
The case that showed us what we can bury anyone

302
00:21:58.680 --> 00:22:02.880
really means that exposed the crisis pr playbook that made

303
00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:06.359
everyone question whether the viral pylons they see online are

304
00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:11.000
genuine or manufactured. Some questions don't have easy answers. Did

305
00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:15.240
Justin Baldoni sexually harass Blake Lively? Did he orchestrate a

306
00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.359
smear campaign against her? Or did she weaponize the legal

307
00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.839
system to destroy a director who simply didn't give her

308
00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:26.240
enough creative control. The jury will decide, and whatever they conclude,

309
00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:28.880
this case has already changed how we think about celebrity

310
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:35.799
reputation and the digital armies that fight in visible wars online. Tomorrow.

311
00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:40.640
Number two on our Countdown Brian Koberger, the Idaho student murders.

312
00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:44.480
Nine hundred and sixty two days of claiming innocence, then

313
00:22:44.599 --> 00:22:48.400
a sudden guilty plea that shocked the world. The case

314
00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:53.039
that captivated America finally reaches its conclusion. I'm read Carter,

315
00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:55.880
see you tomorrow for number two. This is Celebrity Trials