Justin Baldoni Cited Hailey Bieber in Alleged Blake Lively Smear Campaign: Lawsuit [Video]

Justin Baldoni allegedly used a negative social media post about Hailey Bieber as an example of how he hoped his public relations team could organize a retaliatory smear campaign against his It Ends with Us costar Blake Lively, a newly filed complaint from her legal team claims.

A series of private text messages used as an exhibit in Lively’s sexual harassment lawsuit against the actor and director allegedly shows Baldoni, 40, texting and emailing with PR executive Jennifer Abel and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan as they planned what Lively, 37, claims was a smear campaign meant to “destroy” her reputation.

Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman has denied Lively’s allegations, calling them “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt,” in a statement to PEOPLE on Dec. 21.

In one exchange dated Aug. 4, the complaint obtained by PEOPLE on Dec. 21 shows that Baldoni texted a screenshot of a post on X (formerly Twitter) about Bieber, 28, titled …