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As the ongoing legal saga between It Ends With Us stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni escalates, American columnist and blogger Perez Hilton weighed in on a statement made by The New York Times journalist Megan Twohey. Twohey had claimed that Lively's allegation of sexual misconduct against Baldoni is not the worst the actress has experienced in Hollywood.
For those unfamiliar, a day after Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni on December 21, 2024—accusing him of sexual assault and plotting a smear campaign—the New York Times published an article titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, detailing Lively's allegations.
Subsequently, on December 23, 2024, Megan Twohey, one of the co-authors of the article, appeared in an interview with NPC, where she detailed Lively's claims.
During the interview, Twohey stated that Blake Lively told her she had experienced far worse misconduct in Hollywood than what she allegedly faced from Baldoni. However, Lively had no intentions of discussing this alleged misconduct or going public with her accusations.
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"And she told me, like, listen. This was actually not the worst that I have experienced in Hollywood. I've actually experienced far worse misconduct," Twohey stated.
She went on to say that it was the alleged retaliation campaign that followed Lively's decision to speak up that felt far more "sinister" than the actual misconduct.
"Translation: any alleged sexual harassment was bad, but the alleged retaliation campaign was way worse, and that is why she went public."
Reviewing Megan's remarks, Perez Hilton stated that Lively's decision to go public due to the alleged smear campaign felt ironic—and, in his view, seemed to have backfired, causing more harm to her reputation.
"The reputational damage has been severe, and many to most would argue warranted," Hilton stated.
Megan Twohey revealed "many people" have been "influenced" by alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively
Furthermore, in the interview with NPC, Megan Twohey explained that the story surrounding Justin Baldoni's alleged smear campaign against Blake Lively shed light on a new way by which the media manipulates public opinion about Hollywood stars.
She noted that while this type of manipulation has existed for a long time, often through gossip columns and strategic interviews, Baldoni's alleged campaign against Lively was "largely undetectable."
"And since we published the story and since her complaint was filed, you know, so many people have come out and said, oh, my goodness. I was actually influenced by this campaign, and I'm so outraged to realize what had happened," Megan added.
Megan further alleged that messages present in The New York Times article between two of Baldoni's publicists discussed how the online conversation shifted after they launched the smear campaign against Lively, claiming they were remarking on their success.
She further expressed concern, stating that it shows how easily people criticize women.
"And I think that that was one of those moments where it really felt like there was yet another sort of playbook to harm people who come forward with allegations of misconduct," Megan stated.
Meanwhile, Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are set to face each other in court in March 2026.
