“Behind the Scenes Drama: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ Publicist Steps Back from Shocking Lawsuit—What’s the Hidden Story?”

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, two of Hollywood’s most beloved stars, suddenly find themselves embroiled in a legal mosh pit that’s got all the drama of a daytime soap opera. In a twist fit for the tabloids, their publicist, Leslie Sloane, has requested to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s high-stakes lawsuit following allegations of sexual harassment from Lively against Baldoni, the director of It Ends With Us. Can you imagine the tension? It’s like a reality show gone haywire! With Baldoni countering the lawsuit, claiming defamation and damage to his reputation, we’re left wondering—what happens next in this celebrity legal showdown? The stakes are sky-high, not only for the individuals involved but also for the broader conversation around accountability in Hollywood… it’s like watching a carefully choreographed dance unravel before our eyes. LEARN MORE.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ publicist has requested to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit.

Leslie Sloane represents the couple who are currently in a public legal battle with the It Ends With Us director after Lively sued her co-star for sexual harassment in December 2024.

Baldoni countersued for damages and defamation, as Sloane and her firm, Vision PR, were named in the suit.

The actor and his production company Wayfarer Studios, among others, filed a 179-page lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Sloane, and others, for damages that includes lost future income.

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ publicist has requested to be removed from Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

According to E! News, the lawsuit alleges that Lively’s team, including Sloane, had spread ‘malicious stories’ against Baldoni and created a ‘smear campaign’ against him at the Gossip Girl star’s direction.

Lawyer Sigrid McCawley filed a motion in New York federal court on Thursday (20 February), alleging that Sloane was ‘dragged’ into a ‘smoke and mirrors exercise to distract from their own sexual harassment and systematic retaliation’.

Whereas McCawley writes that Sloane has a ‘decades-long reputation for professionalism and trustworthiness’ and that the claims have caused her ‘irreparable professional damage and emotional harm’.

“Baldoni’s allegations about the creative issues are irrelevant and tellingly sexist.” the lawyer said (via The Independent). “Because Ms Lively – an executive producer on the film – dared to offer input on the script, wardrobe and editing, Baldoni blasts her as ‘tyrannical’ and ‘aggressive,’ among other coded terms.

“When Ms Lively bravely spoke up about Baldoni’s predatory behaviour, he and his team used every weapon in their arsenal to blame, embarrass and silence her, going so far as to hire a crisis PR manager who promised to ‘bury’ Ms Lively and ‘destroy’ her life.”

McCawley’s filing also claims there is no ‘basis’ for Baldoni’s claims of a ‘smear campaign’ or ‘malicious’ stories being planted.

Justin Baldoni has countersued for damages and defamation (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, has previously told LADbible Group of Lively’s lawsuit: “This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.”

He continued: “Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too.

“Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.”

Meanwhile, Lively’s lawyers called Baldoni’s lawsuit ‘another chapter in the abuser playbook’.

“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim,” her legal team said in a statement. “This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.”

LADbible Group has contacted Justin Baldoni’s representatives for comment.