Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds' losing 'image war' against Justin Baldoni: expert

What was initially believed to be Blake Lively addressing issues about her "It Ends With Us" director and co-star, Justin Baldoni, in a complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department, troubles have since spiraled into multiple lawsuits between the actors and finger-pointing on either side.

Now with more than one year until an official trial, experts believe the court of public opinion has heavily influenced the cases with mismanaged public relations woven in between.

"There are no real winners here, but right now, Blake and Ryan are losing the image war," Alexandra LaManna, a communications advisor and former White House spokesperson, told Fox News Digital. 

BLAKE LIVELY VS JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW

"The reputational risk of legal action only pays off when you have overwhelming public support, an airtight case and full control of the narrative. None of that seems to be true here."

LaManna added, "Blake’s original lawsuit brought serious sexual harassment allegations, and that can’t be ignored. She and Ryan may have decided that speaking out was worth the reputational fallout, no matter the cost. But this is a he-said-she-said that is getting messier by the day, and it’s getting harder for Blake and Ryan to come out looking clean. 

"Fighting a case is one thing, winning over the public is another. If they can’t do that, their only option may be to step back and let time make people forget."

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Lively filed a sexual harassment suit in December against Justin Baldoni, his Wayfarer studio and former PR reps. The same day Lively filed her suit, Baldoni filed a $250 million suit against the New York Times for a December article about the alleged smear campaign Baldoni attempted to run against his co-star.

Weeks later, Baldoni then named Lively and Reynolds in a separate $400 million lawsuit in which he accused the Hollywood power couple of attempting to hijack "It Ends With Us" and create their own narrative.

Baldoni, 41, apologized to Lively in a six-minute message seemingly sent after the pair met to discuss a now-infamous rooftop scene from the movie in which he claimed in legal documents that he felt pressured by Lively's husband, Reynolds, and her best friend, Taylor Swift, to use Lively's rewritten scene for the film.

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"I think this case has harmed Blake's reputation regardless if she's 100% correct," Ryan McCormick, reputation management expert and managing partner at Goldman McCormick PR, told Fox News Digital. 

"Negative news on a consistent basis re-enforces negative perception. I think all parties should have taken a key lesson from the mafia and had a sit down. It is bad for business (aka their reputations, which directly correlate to earning ability) for something like this to ever see the light of day."

While there's no turning back now that the wheels are in motion on multiple lawsuits, Lyric Mandell, Co-Founder of Tutti Agency and the Director of Media and Public Relations at MOXY Company, believed a different approach toward handling Lively's alleged complaint could have netted different results.

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"Rather than escalating this battle in such a public way, Lively and Reynolds might have benefited from a quieter, more calculated approach," Mandell said. "The entertainment industry is built on relationships, and while standing up against alleged wrongdoing is important, allowing the dispute to play out through social media, public jabs, and lawsuits can do more harm than good."

Mandell added, "A more strategic approach would have been to address these issues earlier—before tensions and theories got to this point. By waiting until things had already started unfolding, they may have lost control of the narrative and made the situation more complicated than necessary. Had they acted sooner with a measured and private strategy, they could have allowed the legal process to handle the core issues while minimizing collateral damage to their reputations.

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"In Hollywood, perception is everything. When the narrative surrounding you turns negative, you risk being seen as a liability rather than an asset, which can lead to lost opportunities. By engaging in highly visible feuds, they run the risk of this controversy lasting far longer than the legal battle itself, potentially overshadowing their future projects and professional relationships."

Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered a trial set for March 9, 2026.