"There is so much evidence out there” — Kjersti Flaa claims that Blake Lively’s smear campaign started “way before Justin Baldoni”

As the ongoing high-profile legal conflict between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively escalates, journalist Kjersti Flaa claimed that the smear campaign mentioned in Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni began long before she filed the lawsuit.

While reviewing Reddit posts during the June 6 episode of Flaawsome Talk, Flaa noted that the posts that were uploaded before Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni criticized Lively's physical appearance, her outfits, and even her age. Many also discussed how Ryan and Blake have changed as a couple.

"There's so many posts, you guys, that are criticizing Blake Lively. They're criticizing her outfits. They're criticizing her age. They're criticizing her hair. A lot of them are talking about how Ryan and Blake used to have these couple goals. You know, everyone wanted to be like them, and how that changed," Flaa stated.

Kjersti Flaa pointed out that these Reddit posts date back to before It Ends With Us premiered in August 2024. She added that internet users had been criticizing Lively, even then, with many calling her "rude" to fans.

"And remember, this is over a year ago, before even It Ends With Us had premiered, anyone even knew anything about it."

Referring to the timing of the posts, Flaa argued that there is substantial evidence suggesting the smear campaign mentioned in Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni began long before he was accused of plotting it.

"I mean, there is so much evidence out there that this so-called smear campaign started way before Justin Baldoni was out there and even accused of starting this campaign," Flaa stated.

Flaa further argued that Blake Lively's legal team claimed the smear campaign against her began before the film's premiere in August. She questioned why they hadn't filed the lawsuit against Baldoni earlier if they were aware the campaign had been ongoing for such a long time.

For the unversed, on December 20, 2024, Blake Lively filed a lawsuit against Justin Baloni for s*xual assault and orchestrating a smear campaign to damage her reputation.

In response, Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against her and Reynolds for civil extortion and defamation. However, he later withdrew his lawsuit by not filing an amended complaint.

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Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively was dismissed

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in Jersey City - January 12, 2024 (Image via Getty)

On June 24, 2025, Justin Baldoni's chief attorney, Bryan Freedman, confirmed that they are dropping their claims against Lively by choosing not to file a second amended complaint, in a statement issued to People Magazine.

For context, Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Lively was dismissed by Judge Lewis J Liman, who is presiding over the legal case. He also rejected Baldoni's lawsuit against The New York Times.

On December 21, 2024, the outlet published an article titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, expanding on Lively's accusations. In return, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against them separately.

However, on June 9, Judge Liman dismissed both of Baldoni's lawsuits but noted that he could file a second amended complaint for "breach of implied covenant" and "tortious interference with contract" by June 23, 2025. Baldoni ultimately chose not to do so.

Subsequently, in a statement to People Magazine, published on June 24, Freedman asserted that the court's decision to dismiss Baldoni's lawsuit had "no effect" on the truth, claiming that there was no s*xual harassment nor any smear campaign against Lively.

"And it does not in any way affect our vigorous defense against Ms. Lively’s claims."

Freedman continued,

"Discovery is proceeding and we are confident that we will prevail against these factually baseless accusations. Instead of revising the existing claims, our clients will be pursuing additional legal options that are available to us."

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Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are set to face each other in court in March 2026.