Melissa Nathan: Justin Baldoni’s PR Manager and the Alleged Mastermind Behind Blake Lively’s Downfall

Blake Lively has taken the entertainment world by storm with some serious accusations. She has filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, dropping some bombshells.

The actress allegedly claimed that Justin Baldoni not only s*xually harassed her while working together on It Ends With Us, but also tried to destroy her reputation using his PR team. And it was a whole team working behind the scenes to flip the script in Baldoni’s favor.

Lively’s lawyers said that they have evidence of this through text messages and other documents they obtained. This isn’t just a simple he-said-she-said situation—it’s an all-out PR battle. Stick with me as we break down the full story.

Blake Lively accused Justin Baldoni of sexual misconduct

In her legal complaint, Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni of using a team of PR professionals to ruin her reputation. She claimed this all started after she reported Baldoni’s alleged sexual misconduct on set.

In the filing, Lively details a “hostile work environment” that nearly disrupted the film’s production. She also accused the actor and his company of launching a multi-pronged “Astroturfing” campaign against her after the release of It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s novel.

The complaint lists troubling on-set incidents (per Deadline). Lively and her team were allegedly exposed to “nude videos or images of women, including producer’s wife.” It also mentioned discussions of Baldoni’s “previous p*rnography addiction,” “personal experiences with s*x,” and “description of their own ge***lia.”

It also accused the filmmaker of asking Lively’s trainer about her weight without her consent and claimed Baldoni or others added “s*x scenes, oral s*x, or on-camera climaxing by [Lively]” beyond the original script. These allegations are among several explosive claims in the filing.

Justin Baldoni’s PR team allegedly plotted against Blake Lively

According to the documents, Blake Lively’s lawyers have obtained, it looks like Justin Baldoni’s PR team was actively plotting against her. The messages they uncovered show that the team wasn’t just sitting idly by—they were actively discussing how to destroy Lively’s career.

The Daily Mail reported on December 21, 2024, that Baldoni brought on Melissa Nathan to his PR team before August 2, 2024. Jennifer Abel, a veteran entertainment strategist, is also part of the team.

Abel, the founder and CEO of RWA Communications, specializes in “legacy building” and helps top executives, companies, and talents with custom strategies (via her LinkedIn profile). As per USA TODAY, Abel reportedly told Nathan that Baldoni “wants to feel like she [Blake Lively] could be buried.”

Nathan, in her response, allegedly said, “You know we can bury anyone but I can’t write that to him. I will be very tough.” In other words, while Baldoni’s team was ready to attack, they knew they had to be careful about what they wrote down.

This shows how far they were allegedly willing to go to target Lively and make sure their plan stayed under wraps. In another text from August 2, 2024, Nathan supposedly told Abel she had sent her a gift, saying, “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill her and send her in a box to your house. It’s a congratulations present.”

The same text thread reportedly includes a message from Abel where she said she’s “recklessly thinking of planting pieces this week about how horrible Blake is to work with.” But there’s more—Baldoni himself reportedly sent Abel a screenshot of a Twitter thread about Hailey Bieber, writing, “This is what we would need.”

A media strategy from Baldoni’s PR team reportedly details plans to protect his reputation, along with producer Jamey Heath and Wayfarer Studios. The document supposedly outlines tactics to improve Baldoni’s image while undermining Lively. Abel and Nathan haven’t said anything about the lawsuit so far.

Justin Baldoni’s lawyer has firmly denied all allegations

Of course, Justin Baldoni’s lawyer isn’t taking these accusations lightly. Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, has come forward to deny all of Lively’s claims in a statement he shared with The New York Times. According to Freedman, the actress’ accusations are “categorically false” and “shameful.”

He argued that Baldoni’s team didn’t launch a smear campaign against Lively at all. Instead, he claimed that Wayfarer Studios, the company behind It Ends With Us, decided to hire a crisis manager before the film’s release.

This was apparently due to what Freedman calls “multiple demands and threats” from Lively. Specifically, he said that Lively threatened not to show up to set and refused to promote the film unless her “demands” were met. Freedman’s argument is that the PR strategy was a standard move to manage the situation, not a plot to destroy Lively. Check out his quote below:

What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise. [It’s] just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals.

But Lively’s camp isn’t backing down. In another statement with The New York Times, she has made it clear that her legal action is meant to expose how people who speak out about misconduct are silenced, The 37-year-old hopes this case can protect others from similar treatment.