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She alleged that as the release of the film approached in August 2024, fearful that her allegations would become public and taint them, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath hired Ms. Nathan, a crisis public relations expert, and then Mr. Wallace, to smear Ms. Lively’s reputation instead.
The actress in her complaint cited text messages that show Ms. Nathan pushing to prevent print articles about Mr. Baldoni’s behavior from being published and reinforce negative ones about Ms. Lively. Other texts, she said, included references to Mr. Wallace, a self-described “hired gun,” leading a digital strategy that included boosting social media posts that could help their cause. For example, one of Ms. Nathan’s employees wrote in a group text message, “We’ve started to see shift on social, due largely to Jed and his team’s efforts to shift the narrative.”
Ms. Lively’s California complaint was a precursor to a lawsuit she filed on Tuesday in federal court in the Southern District of New York. “Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court,” her attorneys said in a statement.
Last week, Stephanie Jones, a former publicist for Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer, filed a lawsuit against them and others, alleging breach of contract and other claims. According to the lawsuit, the text messages and emails that Ms. Lively obtained through a subpoena came from a company phone used by Ms. Abel, one of Ms. Jones’s employees, that was returned when she was fired.
Since the Times article was published, the talent agency William Morris Endeavor dropped Mr. Baldoni as a client. Liz Plank, who has co-hosted the “Man Enough” podcast with Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath, announced she would no longer be appearing on the show.
Colleen Hoover, author of the book “It Ends With Us”; Jenny Slate and Brandon Sklenar, cast members of the movie; and Alex Saks, one of the producers, are among those who have publicly supported Ms. Lively.
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