There are many opinions and endless theories about the Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni saga.  Here is one thing that can be the subject of little dispute: her bombshell accusations ended in a whimper.

In a story that ran in the New York Times days before Christmas in 2024, Lively claimed sexual harassment and retaliation by Baldoni and others.  She filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (a precursor to filing a lawsuit) which the Times immediately reported on, complete with quotes from Lively.

One line from the article that caught my attention was this: “Her filing includes excerpts from thousands of pages of text messages and emails that she obtained through a subpoena. These and other documents were reviewed by The New York Times.”  Two things stood out.  The first is that it made no sense that she got a subpoena when she hadn’t filed in court yet.  And the second was that it was crystal clear that this was a PR move: file the complaint and give it to Times to generate the first article, and watch it take off.

On Monday of this week, just before the case was headed to trial, she and Baldoni issued a joint statement saying that they had reached a settlement.  It said only this about those allegations, “… [we] recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard.”  That is about as tepid a characterization as could be.  There is zero element of apology or admission.  I can’t really imagine someone who has suffered through the sexual harassment and retaliation she alleged agreeing to sign that statement. Reporting stated that no money was paid.  Lively’s legal team’s declarations of victory rang extremely hollow.

I followed this case pretty closely.  It was captivating for many reasons, including because it exposed this shadowy set of PR practitioners who wage war online and sully people’s reputations through smear campaigns.

What became clear to me – and again, I must say this is my opinion, though based on some evidence – is that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds used their clout to bully Baldoni out of his own movie. This picture says it all.

The ending shows that this was an utter defeat for Lively.  The statement and strategy were all about containment –how to limit the damage and exit the situation.  Hours later, she attended the Met Gala.  I don’t believe for a second that the timing was coincidental.

It is true that both Lively and Baldoni suffered reputational damage and that both had legal claims dismissed by the court.  Ten of the 13 claims in Lively’s suit were dismissed largely because she lacked the status of an employee.  Baldoni’s lawsuit against the New York Times for defamation was dismissed, along with a countersuit against Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.  But it always felt like he was responding to a hit piece.  He likely knew that the odds of success against the New York Times were remote.

Prior to December 2024, I didn’t have a strong opinion about Blake Lively – nice enough actress, but no Meryl Streep.  I loved Ryan Reynolds, his movies and sense of humor.

For a few days after the article ran, I was surprised and had great sympathy for her.  Believe the woman, they advise us in cases like this and I do.

But after watching this play out, I now think that both Blake and Ryan are abhorrent people and there are lots of signs that many in their industry share that opinion.  Nice work!