Over the past few years, actress Blake Lively has become synonymous with her legal battle against It Ends With Us' director/star Justin Baldoni. Following the book-to-screen adaptation's release, the pair battled in court for years. Lively and Baldoni recently settled, and a PR expert revealed what she needs to do to help rebuild her career.
It Ends With Us (which is streaming with a Netflix subscription) told an emotional story about domestic violence, but its messaging was overshadowed by its stars' beef. The court of public opinion has come down hard on both Baldoni and Lively, and PR expert Mark Borkowski spoke to Us Weekly about what he thinks the Gossip Girl star needs to do moving forward. In his words:
[She should be] undeniable in the work and boring everywhere else. Boring is the most underrated crisis strategy in the business.
There you have it. As someone who has navigated a PR crisis for his career, Borkowski thinks that Blake Lively should stay out of the public eye and be "boring" so folks eventually forget about the It Ends With Us brouhaha. Instead, he thinks she should focus on her work as an actress and being "undeniable" while on screen. According to the expert, that's the way that folks stop talking about the lawsuit and instead put their attention on her acting talents.
At the time of writing this story, Lively's IMDb says she's attached to three upcoming projects. She also starred in Another Simple Favor, which arrived last year for those with an Amazon Prime subscription. According to another source who is reportedly close to the actress:
Blake is focused on rebuilding her career. She’s confident she can come back from this.
The fact that she's already attached to a number of projects is definitely a good sign, and something that can't be said for Justin Baldoni. He hasn't booked any acting roles since It Ends With Us, although he's got some upcoming credits as both a producer and director. We'll just have to wait and see if these two celebs manage to focus on their work, and therefore lose their association with their legal battle.
Luckily, Blake Lively and her family are seemingly in a good place despite this controversy. Ryan Reynolds is an A-lister who has a number of business ventures, including Mint Mobile, Aviation Gin, and Wrexham A.F.C.. She's been a celebrity for decades now, with a long resume covering both TV and film.
While Blake Lively attended the Met Gala after settling with Baldoni, she has largely stayed out of the public eye. So maybe she's heeding the advice of PR experts who want her to be "boring." We'll just have to wait and see how things ultimately shake out.
It Ends With Us is streaming on Netflix. Lively's upcoming projects aren't expected to arrive on the 2026 movie release list, so we'll have to see if that helps her get some distance from the drama.
