Blake Lively hit with new lawsuit over smear campaign allegations
Los Angeles, California - Blake Lively has been hit with another lawsuit in connection with her claims that her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni conducted an online smear campaign against her.
The 37-year-old actor has been sued by Jed Wallace of a Texas-based crisis PR firm that was named in Lively's complaint filed in December.
Lively accused Wallace of assisting Baldoni's publicity team in the alleged smear campaign, which she says was retaliation for the sexual harassment allegations she has leveled against Baldoni.
Wallace asserts that he was not involved in any form of harassment or retaliation and is now demanding $7 million, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Lively's legal team quickly slammed the latest legal action, saying in a statement, "Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively 'into oblivion' for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation."
Last month, Baldoni hit back at the Gossip Girl alum's initial claims with a lawsuit of his own, demanding $400 million and accusing Lively of defamation and extortion in a bid to take creative control over It Ends With Us, which Baldoni also directed.
The drama is slated to head to trial next March, but a judge warned this week that the date could be moved up if the case continues to be "litigated in the press."
Cover photo: IMAGO / Bestimage