In a new twist to the increasingly complex legal battle between It Ends With Us co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, the Gossip Girl actress is being accused of employing “super shady” legal tactics behind the scenes, tactics that the Jane the Virgin veteran actor’s legal team says amount to an “abuse of process.”
According to a report by The Daily Mail, Lively’s legal team filed an obscure lawsuit in New York under a shell company called Vanzan Inc. on September 27, 2024, which fell around the time rumors of a rift between the actors were circulating. The suit did not name any defendants and was phrased in vague legalese, allowing it to quietly slip into the court system unnoticed. Four days later, an attorney for the actress issued a subpoena to the Con Man star’s former publicist, Stephanie Jones, demanding communications related to the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Baldoni.
The messages acquired through that subpoena now appear to be a central piece of the case. Responding to this situation, Justin Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, did not mince his words when speaking to the outlet, stating:
This appears to be an end-around, skirting the process, to be able to secretly get these documents without having to give anyone notice. That would be an abuse of process and we intend to take all action allowable under the law.
Court filings allegedly reveal that the subpoena led to the turnover of a cache of messages from the embroiled actor’s former publicist and her company Jonesworks. This included texts between PR staffers allegedly coordinating a negative publicity campaign against The Shallows star during promotion for the book to movie adaptation of It Ends With Us.
Among the most damning: a message in which crisis PR consultant Melissa Nathan allegedly wrote, “We can bury anyone,” and another referencing a plan to “destroy” Lively.
The shadow lawsuit was dropped three months later, on December 19, and the next day, The Town performer filed a formal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, accusing her costar of sexual harassment and retaliation. By December 31, both stars had escalated the conflict: Lively filed a federal lawsuit, while Baldoni responded with his defamation suit.
Now, going back to the company referenced in this quiet first suit, Vanzan Inc., a Delaware-based company with virtually no public business record, except for two 2019 shipments of home goods addressed to Lively’s New York residence. California corporate filings later confirmed her, under her married name “Blake Reynolds,” as the CEO of the company, which is now listed as operating in the entertainment industry.
While Baldoni's team called out this lawsuit, Lively's attorney Esra Hudson said, "Doe lawsuits are common and entirely appropriate legal tools," explaining:
Doe lawsuits are common and entirely appropriate legal tools for pursuing claims and uncovering the identity of unknown perpetrators of unlawful activities. This lawsuit unearthed the Wayfarer parties documented plan – in their own words, in their own text messages—to 'destroy' Blake Lively. Their faux outrage has nothing to do with legal ethics or the law, which are not an issue here, and is entirely about the fact that they got caught doing something that they insisted would be 'untraceable.'
While Blake Lively’s team maintains the early legal filings were normal, Freedman and other legal experts argue the maneuver skirts fair legal procedure.
Now, with a court date scheduled and more moves from both sides expected, this situation keeps getting more nuanced and complex.
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