The lead-up to Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s trial has been filled with various developments, and a significant one unfolded earlier this month. A judge dismissed most of the claims in Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni, including harassment, defamation and conspiracy. Lively’s lawyers later released statements in which they shared their reasoning as to why this still represents a legal victory. Meanwhile, a PR industry veteran isn’t mincing words about how she believes Lively’s publicists could be doing more.
Molly McPherson – a veteran crisis strategist and reputation expert – addressed the ongoing dispute between Lively (38) and Baldoni (42) in a video recently posted to TikTok. At the top of the video, McPherson declared that PR fixing – or the process of publicists using methods to manage clients’ crises – was “dead” and that Lively’s team proved that assertion. While McPherson argued that Lively – as the person at the center of the situation – was acting accordingly, her PR team was not doing an effective job of protecting her image:
I posit there is no one in Blake Lively’s corner who’s looking out for Blake Lively. And that’s why I think she’s getting torched.
In her video, McPherson explained that she also took issue with Lively’s lawyers being the only members of her team to release statements after 10 of her 13 claims against Baldoni were thrown out. One of the members of the Age of Adaline star’s legal team, Mike Gottlieb, shared a particularly honest take on the court’s decision and chastised the response from Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman in the process. It’s McPherson’s belief that lawyers must be kept “in their lane” and, while she applauded the comments, she still had this to say:
Article continues below….Here’s a question that I have: who on Blake Lively’s team is looking out for Blake? There is no one on Blake Lively’s team that is looking out at the public and saying, ‘How is the public interpreting all of this?’ For example, when this ruling came out, so many of her responses were posted to Instagram stories. Think about trying to reset your reputation and build trust, but you’re posting to an area of a platform where that message disappears after 24 hours. This is my truth, and then [makes poof expression], it’s gone.
Blake Lively first made claims against Justin Baldoni publicly when she filed a legal complaint against him in December 2024, alleging that he harassed her on the set of It Ends with Us and launched a smear campaign against her. Lively eventually filed suit against Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studios production banner and more over those same claims. Baldoni denied the accusations and eventually countersued Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds and more for alleged defamation and extortion among other purported offenses. Lively and co. saw a win nearly a year ago when Baldoni’s suit was dismissed.
Still, insiders have dropped claims about the major amount of time and money both Baldoni and Lively have apparently been sinking into their legal dispute. It’s also been opined that Lively and Baldoni’s reputations have respectively taken hits throughout this back-and-forth. As for Molly McPherson, she went on to share thoughts on a possible verdict for the upcoming trial but also weighed in on how some damage may already be done:
In May, Blake’s lawyers could pull out a win for her. That’s fine, but — cliché — in the court of public opinion, people aren’t going to wait until May. They’re deciding right now what’s happening. And this is what happens when PR fixers run the show. You might win the argument, but you will lose the crowd and the crowd determines your reputation and your reputation affects your livelihood.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s trial is set to begin on May 18, 2026 in New York. Following the dismissal of most of the claims, purported offenses, like breach of contract and retaliation are still in play. It’s also been confirmed that Baldoni will testify in person during the trial. How public relations officials for both Lively and Baldoni continue to navigate this matter remains to be seen.
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