The drama surrounding “It Ends With Us” seems far from over as Blake Lively faces a new legal challenge.
In December 2024, Lively initiated legal action, claiming she experienced sexual harassment during the filming of “It Ends With Us” and was targeted in a smear campaign by her co-star, Justin Baldoni.
Baldoni, who refutes these allegations, responded with a countersuit. His company is seeking $400 million from Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, in damages.
The accusations from Baldoni extend to the couple and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, as well as her PR firm, Vision PR. These allegations include civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy, all of which Lively’s team has denied.
The legal battle has been marked by exchanges between the parties, with Baldoni’s team reportedly leaking text and voice note communications between him and Lively.
Amidst these legal proceedings, Jed Wallace and Street Relations were named in a civil suit by the former “Gossip Girl” star. This suit accused Wallace and his firm of orchestrating a smear campaign to discourage Lively from speaking out, according to CBS News.
Wallace has refuted these claims, and Lively has since withdrawn her request for his deposition.
Wallace, a crisis communications expert from Texas, and his firm, Street Relations, are now suing Lively for $7 million in damages. They also seek a court declaration that he did not engage in harassment or retaliation against Lively, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
The lawsuit, filed in Texas federal court on Tuesday (February 4), asserts that neither Wallace nor Street were involved in the alleged sexual harassment or retaliation described in Lively’s lawsuit.
The legal action also accuses Lively of defamation. Her lawyers had previously claimed in the now-withdrawn civil suit that Wallace used a digital network to create and promote content against Lively on social media, PEOPLE reports.
Wallace’s lawsuit claims that Lively’s legal team lacks evidence to support the accusations made against Wallace and Street in their initial complaint, which garnered global attention. They allege that Lively, under threat of sanctions, sought to investigate Wallace’s activities.
Responding to the lawsuit, Lively’s lawyers issued a statement via The Independent: “Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively ‘into oblivion’ for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation.”
The statement added: “This is not just a publicity stunt—it is transparent retaliation in response to allegations contained within a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint that Ms. Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department.
“While this lawsuit will be dismissed, we are pleased that Mr. Wallace has finally emerged from the shadows, and that he too will be held accountable in federal court.”