Leslie Sloane, the publicist for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, has requested to be excised from the $400 million lawsuit initiated by Justin Baldoni in January. On Thursday, February 20th, Sigrid McCawley, an attorney, submitted a motion to dismiss in a New York federal court, imploring the judiciary to relieve her clients, Sloane and her firm Vision PR, from Baldoni and Wayfarer's countersuit, and to reimburse them for their legal expenses.
According to the filing, Sloane and her firm were "ensnared" in this legal wrangle as part of a "deceptive maneuver to divert attention" from Lively's allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. It contends that there is no "grounds" for accusing Sloane of planting "malevolent narratives" or waging a "smear campaign."
Regarding the extortion claims, Sloane's legal representatives assert that Baldoni's counsel fails to "pinpoint where or how the alleged extortion transpired" or how she "gained anything of worth as a result of such extortion."
Elsewhere in the document, Sloane's legal team stands in defense of Lively, 37, against Baldoni's portrayal of the case as a creative conflict aimed at seizing control of "It Ends With Us." "Baldoni's assertions regarding creative differences are irrelevant and revealingly sexist," they argue. "Simply because Ms. Lively, an executive producer of the film, dared to offer insights on the script, wardrobe, and editing, Baldoni brands her as 'tyrannical' and 'aggressive,' among other euphemisms." They further claim, "When Ms. Lively courageously spoke out against Baldoni's predatory behavior, he and his team resorted to every means at their disposal to incriminate, embarrass, and silence her, even hiring a crisis PR manager who vowed to 'bury' Ms. Lively and 'destroy' her life."
Baldoni's legal representatives did not respond to PEOPLE's inquiries for comment.
Earlier this week, Lively submitted her amended complaint, updating her December lawsuit against Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, Wayfarer Studios, its co-founder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni's publicist Jennifer Abel, crisis publicist Melissa Nathan and her company The Agency Group PR, as well as Jed Wallace and his crisis management firm Street Relations, Inc. The actress accuses them of sexual harassment and retaliation, alleging they orchestrated an online smear campaign to tarnish her reputation after she reported misconduct. Her amended complaint further alleges that Baldoni, 41, made two unnamed female costars feel "uncomfortable," and they are prepared to testify against him. (The trial is set for March 2026.)
Baldoni's legal representatives have dismissed Lively's claims as "false, outrageous, and deliberately sensational, with the intent to publicly harm." In addition to Sloane and her firm, they are countersuing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and The New York Times for defamation and extortion. Lively's legal representatives have previously deemed the lawsuit as "desperate" and "without merit."
In Baldoni's amended complaint, which his team publicly posted on their website, his legal representatives claim he was targeted in an "actual smear campaign orchestrated by Sloane, under Lively's direction." They further assert that Sloane, whose other prominent clients include Lindsay Lohan, Katie Holmes, and Chris Rock, is a "master manipulator in the shadowy realm of public relations" and orchestrated an "intricately designed plot to assassinate his character." In one alleged text message presented in Baldoni's complaint, Sloane reportedly wrote, "I am not paid to bring people down. I am honest."
