Newly unsealed court records in Blake Lively's lawsuit against "It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni show his team spent heavily on crisis management and social media help during their public feud.

According to the Daily Mail, the filings detail how Wayfarer Studios, run by Baldoni and his business partner Jamey Heath, hired PR contractor Jed Wallace in August 2024. Invoices show Wallace was paid $30,000 a month for three months, totaling $90,000. His now-deleted LinkedIn once described him as a "hired gun" with a formula for "defining artists and trends."

An email introduced in the case shows Baldoni's publicist, Melissa Nathan, connecting Wallace to Heath. "Jed and team has worked on some of the most monumental [behind the scenes] projects globally," Nathan wrote. Wallace replied that his group would work "in lockstep" with Nathan's PR firm, TAG, though under a separate contract.

According to texts, Nathan told Heath one proposal involved "creation of social fan engagement" designed to counter negative online accounts and shift the narrative. She added the work would be "most importantly untraceable." A source familiar with the deal said this referred to anonymous accounts used to amplify favorable stories and argue with Lively's supporters online, though much of that work was never carried out because, the source said, organic criticism of Lively was already widespread.

Disputed Smear Campaign

Lively's attorneys argue the messages show evidence of a smear campaign against her. A spokesperson for the actress said, "There is an overwhelming amount of evidence documenting the smear campaign instigated by Justin Baldoni, Melissa Nathan, Jed Wallace and the rest of the Wayfarer Parties."

Wallace denies that accusation, saying he was paid to monitor social media activity, not to create fake accounts. His attorney, Chip Babcock, said Wallace "has never met or spoken to Ms. Lively. Ever. He has not engaged in a smear campaign against her at any point in time." A judge dismissed Lively's claims against Wallace in July. He has since filed a defamation suit against her in Texas.

In separate texts filed with the court, Nathan's employee Katie Case dismissed Lively's concerns. "Someone has to tell them to grow up," she wrote, adding that negative reactions to the film were "organic stuff from real people making TikToks – not bots."

Crisis Team Costs

Heath told a friend last August that Baldoni's side had committed $9 million to crisis management. "Just have to manage every land mine so it doesn't go off," he wrote. A source close to the PR team later disputed the figure, saying the amount was closer to $15,000.

Other messages show Baldoni felt cornered by the conflict with Lively. In one exchange with executives, he said he was "trying to find my balance of captaining a ship and leading it while it's being held hostage."

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Blake Lively