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Lively vs Baldoni: Inside Hollywood’s PR machine

May 12, 2026

Summary

This episode examines the settled legal feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, revealing a coordinated digital smear campaign against Lively. Hosts Stephen Armstrong and Casey McClure analyze leaked texts from Baldoni’s PR team, which planned to damage Lively’s reputation using astroturfing and social media manipulation. The discussion highlights how modern Hollywood uses online harassment to silence women, noting that Lively’s harassment claims were dismissed on technicalities despite the public backlash.

Topics discussed

Sponsors: BetterHelp and Stamps.com The Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni legal case overview Legal technicalities and the settlement The coordinated PR smear campaign against Lively Sponsors: Serval, Babbel, and Stamps.com Evidence from subpoenaed messages and PR strategies Baldoni's fallout and Melissa Nathan's other clients Astroturfing, digital hate storms, and gender bias Credits and final sponsors
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