Read the bombshell text messages in Blake Lively's lawsuit as she sues Justin Baldoni for sexual...

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Shocking text messages revealed in Blake Lively's lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni suggest that his crisis management team may have initiated a smear campaign against her.

The actress from Gossip Girl is taking legal action against Baldoni, claiming he engaged in sexual harassment and created a harmful work atmosphere—claims he has strongly rejected.

However, Lively's team claims that the messages included in the legal complaint indicate a complex strategy that Mr. Baldoni and his team referred to as “social manipulation,” aimed at damaging Ms. Lively’s reputation. They assert that this approach started after she voiced her worries regarding the conditions on set.

During the film's promotional events, speculation about a conflict between the main actors started to circulate when observant fans picked up on an apparent tension between them on the red carpet.

However, Lively expressed concerns about Baldoni before filming began, as stated in her legal complaint. She alleges that they disagreed over his attempts to incorporate unnecessary nudity and sexual scenes into the film.

The relationship deteriorated significantly during the filming process, leading to a meeting with Human Resources. During this meeting, Baldoni and his Wayfarer studio agreed to several conditions that Lively set forth before she would be willing to continue filming after the writers' strike, according to the documents.

Before August 2, Baldoni brought on crisis management specialist Melissa Nathan, known for working with clients like Johnny Depp, to join his public relations team, which also featured publicist Jennifer Abel.

A lot of the messages from the lawsuit, which were acquired through a subpoena, are conversations between the women. In one particular exchange, Nathan claims she has the ability to 'ruin anyone.'

Numerous communications found in the complaint highlight interactions between publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis management specialist Melissa Nathan.

The response was in reaction to Abel's message, which mentioned that Baldoni "wants to feel like Lively can be laid to rest."

"Sure, but as you know, when we share documents, we can't include any potential work we might do, as that could lead to serious issues," Nathan replies, adding, "We can't state that we will harm her."

She sent a follow-up message that said, "Just think about what could happen if a document containing everything he desires lands in the wrong hands."

"We have the ability to hide anything, but I can't express that to him. I need to be really firm."

In a different exchange on August 2, Nathan seems to be making a lighthearted comment about harming Lively.

“I also sent you a gift. Don't fret, I didn’t harm her and ship her in a box to your place. It’s a gift to celebrate your achievement,” the message from Nathan says. Abel replies, “GREAT.”

Later that day, Abel mentioned that she was having impulsive ideas about wanting to share some articles this week highlighting how difficult it is to collaborate with Blake.

In the meantime, Baldoni seems to have indicated that it would be helpful to launch a focused social media campaign.

He shared a screenshot of a Twitter thread discussing claims of bullying involving Hailey Bieber, along with the message: 'This is what we should be looking for.'

When news surfaces about the conflict between Lively and Baldoni, it was thought that their disagreements were simply a matter of artistic differences.

The Gossip Girl star has alleged that Baldoni created a harmful work environment on set, which involved instances of sexual harassment.

In January, a HR meeting took place where new work conditions were established to guarantee the 'safety' of the work environment, as stated in the legal documents.

She asserts that after expressing her worries to Baldoni and his studio, she became the target of a smear campaign. In this context, it seems that Abel and Nathan were making light of the idea of harming Lively.

Baldoni aimed to promote the film by focusing on the theme of domestic abuse, which is central to the narrative. In contrast, Lively believed the film should carry a more optimistic and positive message.

Lively faced backlash for the insensitivity shown in her promotion of the film, as she neglected to address the issue of domestic abuse during multiple interviews.

It's not certain whether this response was planned, but Baldoni's communications seem to indicate that he was prepared to take advantage of the bad publicity.

"What’s the TikTok strategy?" Baldoni asks in a message. "I would like you all to focus on sharing videos of me discussing domestic violence and the significance of this film."

As the debate about the film intensified, some of the more serious accusations that Lively had made against Baldoni in private started to surface in the media.

They noted that he made unwelcome remarks about her weight and held on for too long during kissing scenes.

The documents reveal how the crisis management team rushed to redirect the conversation and focus the attention back on Lively.

On August 11, Abel reached out to Baldoni to calm his concerns, explaining that the stories posed no danger.

The two actors shared the screen in the eagerly awaited film adaptation of the well-known Coleen Hoover book of the same title earlier this year.

Baldoni occasionally seems to step in and propose his own strategies to undermine Lively.

The messages reveal the publicists rejoicing after successfully reducing the coverage of Lively's accusations in the media.

"There's not much interest being shown. Your fans continue to stand by you and feel that the reason behind the 'feud' stems from her taking charge of the film," she wrote.

The day before, Nathan told Abel that most of the social media posts support Justin, and he doesn't even agree with many of them, laughing as he said it. In another instance, Nathan expressed his excitement about the clever strategy being employed.

"Jen, that went incredibly well! I can't believe it. I need to give you a call soon to tell you all about it. It was truly brilliant!"

The legal complaint also contains more accusations regarding Baldoni's inappropriate conduct.

The allegations claim that Baldoni displayed an explicit video of his wife to Lively, entered the star's trailer while she was either unclothed or breastfeeding, candidly talked about his supposed porn addiction, and made her and other women on staff uneasy with his overtly sexual remarks.

The concerns were addressed in a meeting held in January, which included Lively, Baldoni, and a number of studio representatives. During this gathering, they reached agreements on several changes, one of which was the introduction of an intimacy coordinator on set.

Wayfarer recognizes, as stated in the legal complaint, that even though we have different viewpoints on several issues, protecting everyone's safety is of utmost importance.

Nevertheless, a document related to media strategy, seemingly created by the crisis management team, which is also part of the legal complaint, describes the team’s approach to safeguarding the reputations of Baldoni, lead producer Jamey Heath, and Wayfarer.

The document presents various potential discussion topics to strengthen Baldoni's position while undermining Lively.

One of the claimed tactics was to imply that Lively had established a 'power imbalance' during filming by bringing her husband, Ryan Reynolds, into the mix.

This involves her somewhat negative standing within the industry and how she brought her husband, Ryan Reynolds, into the picture, which led to a power dynamic that was skewed.

During the post-production phase, Lively enlisted her own editor to rework the film, and this version was the one ultimately selected for release.

In a different message, Baldoni seems to propose using Reynolds' participation as a way to go after Lively.

"My partner mentioned reworking the story regarding the leak this morning in which Ryan described the script as a complete failure and claimed he rescued the film. The message then proposes, 'turning their own statements back on them'."

The document also indicates that some crew members reportedly lost their positions because Lively was determined to maintain control over the creative direction.

Baldoni, with the help of his attorney Brian Freedman, has denied the allegations.

"It’s disgraceful that Ms. Lively and her team would level such serious and entirely untrue claims against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its staff, as part of a misguided effort to repair her tarnished image that resulted from her own statements and behavior during the film's promotional campaign," he stated.

Interviews and media events that were publicly accessible and broadcast in real time without edits, enabling the online community to form their own perspectives and opinions.

In her legal complaint, Lively alleges that Baldoni displayed explicit photos and videos of women, discussed a supposed past addiction to pornography, and made inappropriate sexual remarks about the cast and crew.

The messages reveal Baldoni proposing ways to change the story as additional details come to light regarding the controversy related to the film.

Some showcase the publicists enjoying their success when their hard work yields positive results.

These allegations are utterly untrue, inappropriate, and deliberately provocative, aimed at causing public damage and reviving a story in the media.

Wayfarer Studios chose to bring in a crisis manager before launching the film's marketing campaign. This was done to support their own representative, who was working with Jonesworks, led by Stephanie Jones. The decision was prompted by various challenges and threats made by Ms. Lively during production, which included her warning that she might refuse to come to set and her unwillingness to promote the film, putting its success at risk if her requests weren’t fulfilled.

Additionally, it was found that Ms. Lively had hired her own agent, Leslie Sloan from Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to spread misleading and entirely made-up stories to the media. This happened even before any marketing for the film had begun. This prompted Wayfarer Studios to decide to bring in a crisis management expert to start planning for potential issues that might arise.

The team at Wayfarer Studios didn't take any active steps or respond aggressively. Instead, they just addressed media questions to promote accurate and fair reporting, while keeping an eye on social media conversations.

Freedman pointed out that the selected communications lack any proof that proactive steps were taken with the media or in other areas; instead, there was only internal planning and private discussions aimed at strategy, which is typical for public relations teams.

Lively rejected any claims that she created misleading or negative narratives about her co-star or his business.

"I hope that my lawsuit sheds light on these harmful tactics used against those who expose wrongdoing, and that it provides protection for others who might be threatened," she stated.