The battle with Justin Baldoni brings another consequence for Blake Lively

Actress Blake Lively has ended her collaboration with her publicist of more than two decades, Leslie Sloane, after the great uproar surrounding her legal clash with actor and director Justin Baldoni.

The news was confirmed to Page Six by three sources, while at the time of publication Sloane had not given a comment on the decision. Lively’s manager also did not respond to a request for comment.

Lively had engaged Sloane more than 20 years ago, during the period when she was gaining fame with the series “Gossip Girl.” At that time, Sloane was still working at the public relations company Baker Winokur Ryder.

The publicist has been widely praised for her role in consolidating Lively’s career in Hollywood. In 2014, Sloane took the actress with her when she founded her own company, Vision PR.

Since then, Vision PR has represented some of the best-known names in the entertainment industry, among them Katie Holmes, Chris Rock, Uma Thurman and Marlon Wayans.

The split between Lively and Sloane comes after an 18-month legal battle between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, which drew great public and media attention.

In December 2024, Lively sued Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and of organizing a retaliatory campaign to damage her image after she had raised concerns about his behavior during the filming of “It Ends With Us.”

Baldoni denied the accusations and later filed a $400 million lawsuit for defamation and extortion against Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. He accused them of attempting to damage his reputation.

Leslie Sloane and her company Vision PR were also drawn into this legal battle. Baldoni claimed the publicist had prompted the publication of negative articles about him and had been involved in a campaign against him. Sloane strongly denied these claims.

Baldoni’s claims against Sloane were later dismissed by the court.

What happened to the lawsuits?

In June 2025, the court dismissed Baldoni’s $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. In April 2026, the court also dismissed Lively’s sexual harassment claims, while her retaliation claim against Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, remained part of the case.

However, before the case went to trial, the parties reached a settlement in May 2026, only two weeks before the scheduled trial date.

The legal battle was accompanied by considerable legal costs and a long public clash between the two “It Ends With Us” actors.