Blake Lively, a famous Hollywood actress, is said to have taken a hidden legal step against actor Justin Baldoni before she publicly accused him of sexual harassment. According to reports, she did not file the legal request in her own name but used her company instead. This move was meant to get private messages and emails from Baldoni’s former publicist.
The legal request, called a subpoena, was sent to Stephanie Jones, who used to work as Baldoni’s publicist. Jones now runs her own company called Jonesworks. The subpoena asked for all communications involving Baldoni, Lively, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
Reports suggest that Lively’s team wanted these messages to prepare for a possible lawsuit. Jones reportedly handed over emails and texts between crisis PR manager Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, a former employee who still worked with Baldoni at the time. These messages later became important in Lively’s case.
One message that stood out was from Nathan, where she reportedly said, “We can bury anyone.” Lively’s legal team used this as proof that there was a plan to harm her reputation. However, the first lawsuit was dropped in December 2024. Just days later, Lively officially filed a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment.
Legal experts who are not part of the case have shared their thoughts. Attorney Ron Zambrano spoke to the Daily Mail and called Lively’s legal strategy “very shady” and “clandestine.” He believes the move was made to collect information quietly without letting the other side know or respond.
Now, both celebrities are involved in lawsuits against each other. The case has become complicated, with accusations of smear campaigns and misuse of the legal system.
A subpoena is a legal order that forces someone to provide documents or testify in court. Usually, these are filed openly, but in this case, Lively’s team did it secretly under her company’s name. Legal experts say this is unusual and could be seen as a way to avoid attention.
By using her company instead of her personal name, Lively may have wanted to prevent Baldoni’s team from finding out early. This way, she could gather evidence before making her accusations public.
The messages obtained through the subpoena reportedly showed discussions between Baldoni’s PR team. The statement “We can bury anyone” was used by Lively’s lawyers to argue that there was a plan to attack her reputation.
However, it is still unclear if these messages were part of a real smear campaign or just private discussions. Baldoni’s side has not yet publicly responded to these claims in detail.
In December 2024, Lively’s initial lawsuit was dropped. The reasons are not fully known, but legal experts suggest it could have been a strategy to refile with stronger evidence. Soon after, she filed a formal complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department, which handles workplace harassment cases.
Ron Zambrano, a lawyer not involved in the case, told the Daily Mail that the way Lively’s team handled the subpoena was questionable. He called it “shady” because it was done in secret, making it hard for the other side to defend themselves early on.
Other legal professionals say that while subpoenas are common in lawsuits, hiding them under a company name is rare and could be seen as unfair.
Now that both sides are fighting in court, the case could take months or even years to resolve. Baldoni has not yet made a detailed public statement about the harassment claims. Meanwhile, Lively’s legal team seems to be building their case with the evidence they collected.
This situation shows how serious legal battles between celebrities can get, especially when accusations of harassment and smear campaigns are involved.
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