In an update of the never-ending drama between actress Blake Lively and director Justin Baldoni following the It Ends With Us fallout, Lively has hired PR crisis manager and ex-CIA chief of staff Nick Shapiro to assist her as an advisor.
“The litigation team for Ms. Lively retained Mr. Shapiro to advise on the legal communications strategy for the ongoing sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit occurring in the Southern District of New York,” an anonymous member of Lively’s legal team told Variety.
Shapiro has experience working in crisis management, national security and strategic communications in the White House, the CIA and for private sectors for over 15 years.
In his online bio, Shapiro mentions that he “helped lead the Obama administration’s response to the [Swine Flu] pandemic, the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, the Gulf Oil Spill, the Boston Marathon Bombing, the Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster,” as well as other natural disasters and cyber attacks.
Shapiro has experience working as a crisis manager for the CIA and The White House. (Image: helena.org)
He was also one of 51 government employees who signed an open letter in 2020 following the leak of Hunter Biden’s laptop, which states that it “has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation”.
Lively’s move to hire Shapiro follows Baldoni’s initial decision to hire his own crisis management team in August 2024, who previously worked alongside Johnny Depp during his trial against ex-wife Amber Heard.
A New York Times article later revealed Baldoni’s involvement with his crisis management team in December 2024, leading Lively to eventually sue Baldoni for sexual harassment and for allegedly creating a “smear campaign” against her, while Baldoni filed a lawsuit against the NYT.
The trial between Lively and Baldoni is set to begin next year on March 9, 2026.
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