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Social media commentator and podcaster Perez Hilton weighed in on Blake Lively's recent hiring of a "new crisis PR expert" amidst her legal skirmish with Justin Baldoni. Speaking about the strategy employed by Lively's PR team to improve her online image, Hilton, in his May 17, 2025, exclusive video, claimed the crisis PR expert wasn't doing their job.
"Blake hired, just a few months ago, a new crisis PR expert. Where's the experting?" Hilton commented.
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As per an article by Variety dated February 28, 2025, Blake Lively had hired a crisis PR expert named Nick Shapiro to her litigation team. As per the report, Shapiro was the CIA's former Deputy Chief of Staff and a Senior Advisor to former Director John Brennan.
A member of Lively's legal team had also issued a statement about Shapiro's role in the legal battle.
"The litigation team for Ms. Lively retained Mr. Shapiro to advise on the legal communications strategy for the ongoing s*xual harassment and retaliation lawsuit occurring in the Southern District of New York," the statement read.
In the context of Nick Shapiro's addition and involvement in overseeing Blake Lively's "legal communications," Perez Hilton revealed that he had some insider information from a "very well-trusted source." Hilton clarified that the source was his friend and someone who worked in "media" and he knew in real life.
"Blake's lawyer is calling up every news department and demanding changes in stories, and even wanting some of the quotes moved up in stories," Hilton stated, quoting his source verbatim.
Referring to this revelation made by his source, Hilton explained that Blake Lively's team was using this strategy to "manipulate and control the media" because they were "afraid" of the articles being published about the actress, especially those related to the controversial revelations in her legal battle against Justin Baldoni.
The podcaster then highlighted how, despite the hiring of a new PR crisis manager, Lively's team was using a strategy that would not be "effective" in her case. He further added that it was "time to hire somebody new."
What else did Perez Hilton say about Blake Lively amidst her ongoing lawsuit against Justin Baldoni?
Referring to the information given to him by his "very well-trusted source," Perez Hilton, in the video mentioned above, shared that Blake Lively's team was "blowing up writers," as they had a full "list of everyone reporting" on her legal battle against Justin Baldoni.
As per his source, while Lively's team wasn't explicitly issuing "threats," they were "definitely overstepping."
"My friend says that they've never seen anything like this before," Hilton added.
Hilton also addressed Blake Lively directly in the video, offering her a "little bit of advice."
"Lay low and stay the f-off social media… Learn from Justin Baldoni and zip it, I think," he advised.
As per various People magazine reports, Lively has made many public appearances recently. On May 13, she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, had a "very public dinner with Salma Hayek." On May 15, Lively and her two sisters, Robyn and Lori, visited Guy Aroch and Anna Palma's exhibition in NYC. On May 19, Lively took to her Instagram account to announce the launch of new products for her beauty line, Blake Brown.
Referring to these public appearances, Hilton remarked that Lively wasn't doing "either of those things," he advised her to do.
Blake Lively's legal team files motion seeking sanctions against Justin Baldoni's team over "frivolous, baseless claims"
On May 19, 2025, People magazine reported a significant development in the ongoing legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. As per the report, Lively's legal team had filed a motion targeting Baldoni, his It Ends with Us collaborators, and their respective attorneys on May 19, 2025, for making "frivolous, baseless claims against" Lively.
As per the People magazine report, this aforementioned Notice of Motion "seeks sanctions in the form of attorneys' fees and costs that Ms. Lively incurred… a formal reprimand, and any sanctions that the Court deems just and proper."
The Notice of Motion further claimed that the "Plaintiffs' Counsel acted willfully" with the "intent of harassing Ms. Lively" leading to "unnecessary delay, and increasing the cost of litigation."
Previously, as per the May 8, 2025, People magazine report, Justin Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, had given a statement to the People magazine about Blake Lively.
"Since Ms. Lively is open to testifying, let’s make it count. Hold the deposition at [Madison Square Garden], sell tickets or stream it, and donate every dollar to organizations helping victims of domestic abuse," he proposed.
Referring to this statement by Freedman, Lively's team condemned the "ghoulish taunt" in their May 19 Motion of Notice, adding that "federal courts [were] venues for the adjudication of justice, not playgrounds for retribution or public relations."
At present, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are engaged in a legal saga that began in December 2024, when Lively filed a s*xual harassment complaint against Baldoni and accused his company of orchestrating a retaliatory smear campaign against her. In response, Justin Baldoni filed a $400 million defamation lawsuit in January 2025 against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist Leslie Sloane.
As of now, this case remains in its pretrial phase, with proceedings set to begin on March 9, 2026.
