The last year’s December feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni resulted in a lawsuit. The actress sued the director for sexual harassment and waging a PR smear campaign against her. On the other hand, the actor and director accused Lively of pressuring him into letting her make decisions about the movie.
Justin Baldoni then sued the New York Times which broke the story for libel and filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion. Now, public sentiments are against Blake and she decided to invest heavily in strong PR to push public sentiments towards her.
But who did she hire? The actress hired a former CIA powerhouse to be her PR crisis manager. While the proceeding hasn’t commenced, Nick Shapiro who is the CIA’s former deputy chief of staff and senior advisor to former director John Brennan will stir public sympathy her way.
Per her legal team, “The litigation team for Ms Lively retained Mr Shapiro to advise on the legal communications strategy for the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit occurring in the Southern District of New York.” And true, the PR manager has an impressive career of 15 years in crisis management, national security and strategic communications.
His experience in the White House also allowed him to build government ties. He also served in the White House as a Senior Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Aide on the National Security Council and was former President Obama’s National Security Spokesperson.
As stated above, the proceedings are yet to start but will commence in March 2026. On his part, Justin Baldoni is working with his team to gather all evidence and recordings regarding the case.