Blake Lively has hired PR crisis manager Nick Shapiro amid her ongoing legal battle against Justin Baldoni.
“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,” Lively’s legal team confirmed to Us Weekly in a statement on Friday, February 28.
Shapiro was formerly the CIA’s deputy chief of staff and previously worked as the senior advisor to former director John Brennan. (Variety was first to break the news that Shapiro was quietly working with Lively.)
This news comes days after Lively alleged that Baldoni and his team have displayed “disregard and disrespect” for her as a woman “advocating for the most basic workplace protections against sexual harassment” in a new filing obtained by Us.
Blake Lively’s Lawyers Denounce ‘More Attacks’ From Justin Baldoni
The Gossip Girl alum hit back on Wednesday, February 26, after she was accused of trying to “prevent the public” from seeing “relevant evidence” in her legal battle against Baldoni.
Lively recently asked for an “Attorney’s Eyes Only” stipulation in an improved protective order to keep information out of the public eye. According to a Deadline report, Baldoni’s team responded with a letter stating they were “surprised” by her request. Attorney Mitchell Schuster accused the actress of attempting to “rehabilitate her tarnished image with bold statements to the press” per the letter obtained by Deadline and said that Lively “already publicized the alleged details of the so-called ‘harassment.’”
Lively initially filed a sexual harassment complaint against her It Ends With Us costar and director Baldoni along with his Wayfarer Studios production company in December 2024, claiming that he fostered a “hostile work environment.” Lively amended her complaint earlier this month to include her “emotional impact” from the legal battle.
“The emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her, but her family, including her husband and four children,” court documents obtained by Us read. “There are days when she has struggled to get out of bed, and she frequently chooses not to venture outside in public.”
Blake Lively Responds to Justin Baldoni’s New $400 Million Lawsuit
Baldoni has vehemently denied all of Lively’s claims, suing her along with her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane (who has filed a motion to remove herself from the lawsuit) for $400 million. Baldoni also filed a suit against The New York Times, who initially published Lively’s claim. The newspaper has since defended its reporting and Lively has denied all of Baldoni’s claims.
Lively and Baldoni are set to go to trial in March 2026. However, Judge Lewis Liman stated during an initial hearing on February 3 that the trial could be moved up if the legal battle continues to play out in the press.
