Blake Lively has taken a bold step in her ongoing legal dispute, asserting that her public image has suffered significantly, to the tune of approximately $40 million. This, she claims, is due to a public relations battle launched by Justin Baldoni’s production company.
Court documents accessed by the Daily Mail reveal that Lively is pursuing a substantial financial settlement. She is seeking damages from Baldoni’s Wayfarer Studios LLC and the production company It Ends With Us Movie (IEWUM) LLC, seeking compensation between $142 million and nearly $300 million.
In a recent court filing, the 38-year-old actress argues that her reputation has been tarnished, citing labels such as ‘mean girl’ that emerged during her conflict with Baldoni’s studio. This negative portrayal, she claims, resulted in a financial loss estimated between $36.5 million and $40.5 million.
Lively’s legal documents also mention other derogatory terms like ‘bully’ and ‘tone deaf’ which, according to her, have been unfairly linked to her name online, causing significant reputational harm.
The Daily Mail has reached out for comments from representatives of Baldoni, Wayfarer, and Lively, though responses are yet to be received.
This legal maneuver comes after Lively contested Wayfarer’s intention to present articles to a jury that depicted her in a negative light, particularly as a ‘mean girl’ and a ‘bully.’
Blake Lively, 38, claims she took a hit to her reputation that cost her around $40 million due to a PR war allegedly waged by Justin Baldoni’s production studio in new court filings
A recent filing obtained by the Daily Mail claims that a ‘mean girl’ label and other negative terms that stuck to Lively amid her feud with Baldoni’s production studio led to a reputational hit that cost her between $36.5 million and $40.5 million; Baldoni and Lively pictured in January 2024
She’s continuing on with her case after the judge overseeing it dismissed 10 of her 13 claims, including allegations that Baldoni had sexually harassed her, which he has vehemently denied.
However, her claims of retaliation from Wayfarer and IEWUM, aiding and abetting in retaliation — which was directed at the PR firm The Agency Group — and breach of contract against IEWUM survived, allowing the lawsuit to continue.
In the recent filing, Lively broke down her alleged damages with specific amounts related to alleged harm to her reputation.
She claimed damages ‘In the amount of approximately $24,375,267, based on a conservative estimated 116,959,530 impressions of the defamatory statements, subject to expert testimony.’
The court documents also described damages between ‘approximately $36.5 million to $40.5 million,’ which was based on ‘176,738,781 impressions of the terms “bully,” “mean girl,” and “tone deaf,” attributable to the retaliatory campaign, which impressions are subject to expert testimony.’
Her alleged damages for reputational harm are on top of economic damages.
Lively claims to have ‘Lost earnings between approximately $41,550,956 and $87,793,592’ and to have ‘Lost profits between approximately $39.6 million and $143.5 million subject,’ with expert testimony allegedly backing up her assertions.
The Gossip Girl star gives a breakdown of her alleged lost earnings.
She also claimed damages ‘In the amount of approximately $24,375,267, based on a conservative estimated 116,959,530 impressions of the defamatory statements, subject to expert testimony’; pictured in April 2025 in NYC
Lively claimed Wayfarer’s PR campaign caused her to lose out on earnings between ‘$41,550,956 and $87,793,592,’ and to have lost profits between ‘$39.6 million and $143.5 million’; Baldoni and wife Emily pictured in August 2024 in NYC
She claims that $47.5 million to $90 million is for ‘lost acting and/or producing opportunities for major studio feature films’ that Lively has allegedly lost out on through August 2029.
She also claims to have missed out on anywhere from $2.5 million to $22.5 million in acting and producing gigs for ‘independent, limited budget and cameo films’ in that period, as well as $8 million to $20 million in lost work in limited television series.
Endorsements she allegedly lost, along with speaking engagements and personal appearances that she won’t receive now will cost her a further $9.5 million to $26 million.
Lively also claims that her profits were significantly injured by the alleged PR actions, which she says harmed her business.
She alleges that her company Blake Brown Beauty lost cash flow between $19.4 million and $45.1 million, and she additionally missed out on $12.3 million to $70.2 million in royalties for the brand.
Lively also alleges that Betty B Holdings, LLC, lost around $7.9 million to $28.3 million.
In addition, she’s seeking $250,000 to $400,000 for ‘pain and suffering, physical pain, and humiliation’ arising from Wayfarer’s alleged retaliation campaign.
Wayfarer’s legal team objected to Lively’s figures in their own filing, which was obtained by the Daily Mail.
In a response, Wayfarer’s legal team claims that Lively had damaged her own reputation, based on statements about her from Sony Pictures executives and news articles painting her as a ‘mean girl’ and a ‘bully’; Baldoni is pictured in May 2024
Lively’s lawsuit is set to go to court on May 18 in New York; she and Baldoni are seen in a still from It Ends With Us
They dispute Lively’s claims that her reputation was damaged by Baldoni’s studio, instead claiming she was responsible for any reputational damage.
‘Lively’s reputation at Sony Pictures, one of the Big Five studios, was already in the ditch as the direct result of her appalling behavior during the making of the film,’ Wayfarer’s attorneys allege. ‘This included her insistence on taking control of the movie, her insistence on excluding Baldoni from the premiere, and her refusal to promote the movie unless her demands were met.’
They cite as evidence negative statements about Lively made by executives at Sony Pictures, and also defend introducing into evidence articles that labeled her a ‘mean girl,’ as the articles were all written between 2014 and 2020.
Wayfarer’s defense team claims that the timeline indicates that Lively already had a reputation as a ‘mean girl’ and a ‘bully,’ and therefore any PR campaign couldn’t have been responsible for that impression.
Lively’s lawsuit is set to go to court on May 18 in New York.
