Justin Baldoni hires a crisis manager following Blake Lively 'It Ends With Us' fallout

Feud rumours are going wild

Justin Baldoni attends the "It Ends With Us" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City. attends the "It Ends With Us" New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on August 06, 2024 in New York City.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Justin Baldoni has hired a PR crisis manager as rumours of his feud with Blake Lively and other cast members from It Ends With Us rage on.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed on Tuesday that Justin has hired crisis expert Melissa Nathan, founder of The Agency Group. While the company denied the publication's request for comment, the description on their website claims that the group "redefines the rules of reputation management." Staffers at the company "partner with world-class artists, leaders of industry, innovators and global brands to create sustainable and impactful solutions."

If this is the first you're hearing of this whole saga, you may be wondering why Justin would need "reputation management" in the first place.

Well, over the last couple of weeks, the actor-director has come under scrutiny from fans, who believe there's been drama brewing behind the scenes of It Ends With Us, which came out in cinemas on Friday.

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One major sticking point for internet sleuths was that Justin — who both directed and starred in the film as Ryle Kincaid — did all of his press in the run-up to the release on his own. Meanwhile, Blake was typically paired with Brandon Sklenar or Jenny Slate, among other members of the cast and crew.

While this seemed odd to fans, there have been a lot more "clues." There are rumours of "creative differences" between Justin and Blake, plus the fact that the Jane the Virgin actor didn't pose with anyone from the cast or crew at the film's New York premiere — while Blake, Jenny, Brandon and other members of the cast all took photos with one another.

Jenny also helped to stir up the rumours when she all but dodged a question about what it was like to work with Justin during the premiere.

Still, Justin has been very complimentary towards Blake throughout this whole ordeal — even suggesting that she would be a great pick to direct the film's sequel, It Starts With Us.

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Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.