A publicist working for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds has asked a New York court to remove her from the ongoing legal battle between her clients and Justin Baldoni because she claims she was 'dragged' into the conflict.
Leslie Sloane and her company, Vision PR, have no doubt had their work cut out for them since Lively first decided to take legal action against her It Ends With Us co-star, Baldoni, in December 2024.
The case made headlines as Lively accused Baldoni both of sexual harassment during their time working on the 2024 drama movie, as well as of attempting to 'destroy' her reputation in the aftermath.
Baldoni then hit back with a suit of his own in which he accused Lively and her team of having 'orchestrated' a 'vicious smear campaign' against him. He has also claimed her husband, Reynolds, had 'aggressively berated him'.
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Sloane was among the defendants named in Baldoni's suit, but on February 20 her lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, filed a motion in New York requesting that both Sloane and Vision PR be removed from the suit.
McCawley alleged Sloane was 'dragged' into what she described as a 'smoke and mirrors exercise' by Baldoni's team, suggesting they had filed the countersuit to 'distract from their own sexual harassment and systematic retaliation'.
The filing also references Sloane's 'decades-long reputation for professionalism and trustworthiness', and claims there is no 'basis' for the allegation that PR Vision launched a 'smear campaign' against Baldoni.
By naming her in the countersuit, Sloane's lawyer alleges the publicist suffered 'irreparable professional damage and emotional harm'.
McCawley also showed support for Lively in the filing as she hit back against Baldoni's claim that she took over creative control of the movie, for which he was also the director.
She wrote: "Baldoni's allegations about the creative issues are irrelevant and tellingly sexist. 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.”
As for Lively's allegations about Baldoni's behavior on set, McCawley alleged Baldoni and his team responded by using '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'.
Baldoni's lawyers have previously described Lively's claims as 'false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt'.
Both sides have been told to prepare for a trial in March 2026.
UNILAD has contacted representatives for Baldoni for comment.
Topics: Hollywood, Celebrity, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni
Emily Brown