{"id":40480,"date":"2026-08-12T09:07:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40480"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:07:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T04:07:37","slug":"blake-lively-vs-justin-baldoni-legal-battle-sparks-another-bitter-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=40480","title":{"rendered":"Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni legal battle sparks another bitter lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F08%2F137110608.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Fallout from the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni legal saga has produced yet another lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p>Showbiz reporter James Vituscka is suing his former employer, the Daily Mail, claiming they terminated him after he became embroiled in the Lively-Baldoni drama.<\/p>\n<p>According to court docs obtained by Page Six Tuesday, Vituscka was named in the high-profile litigation after discussing the \u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d fallout with both Lively\u2019s longtime publicist and Baldoni\u2019s representatives.<\/p>\n<p>After his texts were used in court papers, Vituscka wanted to hire his own legal representation to defend himself, but alleges that the Daily Mail discouraged him from doing so. Instead, he claims, per the court docs, that the outlet \u201cpressured\u201d him to sign a declaration with language he was not comfortable with, like stating he \u201cregretted\u201d the actions that led to his involvement.<\/p>\n<p>The Mail is \u201ccategorically\u201d denying the allegations and Vituscka\u2019s account of what transpired. In a statement to Page Six, the news outlet blasted his lawsuit as \u201can inaccurate account of the circumstances surrounding the declaration he signed in connection with the Lively-Baldoni litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Daily Mail is being sued by a former reporter who got entangled in the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni legal dispute after the pair starred in \u201cIt Ends With Us.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">GC Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The reporter, James Vituscka, claims in court documents (which were obtained by Page Six Tuesday) that he was told by Lively\u2019s publicist, Leslie Sloane, that Baldoni was the cause of tension on set. <span class=\"credit\">Robert Miller for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Vituscka\u2019s suit, filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleges whistleblower retaliation, sex and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, interference with protected rights and wrongful termination. He is seeking damages, including lost wages, emotional-distress damages and punitive damages.<\/p>\n<p>Per the court docs, Vituscka was covering the <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/07\/14\/celebrity-news\/justin-baldoni-challenges-blake-livelys-request-after-breaking-silence-on-legal-war\/\">\u201cIt Ends With Us\u201d drama<\/a> as a senior US entertainment reporter when he alleges that the Mail tried to control him.<\/p>\n<p>According to his lawsuit, Lively\u2019s longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, allegedly told him in August 2024 that Baldoni was the source of tension on the set \u2014 but never told him that Baldoni had sexually harassed or assaulted Lively.<\/p>\n<p>After Lively <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/06\/12\/celebrity-news\/blake-lively-wins-bid-for-justin-baldoni-to-pay-her-legal-fees\/\">filed a sexual-harassment complaint <\/a>against Baldoni in December 2024, Vituscka alleges that he texted Baldoni\u2019s PR crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, about the apparent discrepancy.<\/p>\n<p>In the exchange, Vituscka accidentally used the phrase \u201csexually assaulted\u201d rather than \u201csexually harassed,\u201d but says he subsequently made clear that Sloane had never told him anything about sexual harassment.<\/p>\n<p>Those texts later became part of Baldoni\u2019s legal filings, thrusting Vituscka into the middle of the increasingly bitter litigation. Vituscka claims his words were selectively quoted and stripped of context, and he was subsequently subpoenaed to provide documents and testimony. The subpoena then set off a dispute with the Daily Mail over how he should respond, the lawsuit claims. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>After Lively filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni, Vituscka claims he texted Baldoni\u2019s PR crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, about the apparent discrepancy. <span class=\"credit\">GC Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Vituscka\u2019s texts with Nathan later became part of Baldoni\u2019s legal filings, thrusting him into the middle of the litigation. <span class=\"credit\">Gregory P. Mango for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Vituscka, pictured here, claims his words were selectively quoted and stripped of context, and he was subsequently subpoenaed to provide documents and testimony. <span class=\"credit\">YouTube\/James Vituscka<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He alleges the Mail retaliated against him, changing the way his work was supervised before firing him in June 2025. The complaint had not yet been reviewed by the County Clerk at publication time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt no point did Daily Mail pressure James to sign a declaration he believed to be untrue,\u201d the outlet told us in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn fact, the declaration he signed was consistent with what he had already told senior management after the Baldoni complaint first came to our attention. As a trusted news organization, we expect our journalists to act with honesty and integrity, and we rely upon that important expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Mail concluded the statement by alleging that Vituscka\u2019s \u201cclaims that he is a \u2018whistleblower\u2019 who suffered \u2018retaliation,\u2019 \u2018harassment,\u2019 \u2018discrimination\u2019 or other unlawful treatment are entirely meritless and unsupported by the facts, and we are confident they will be soundly dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni settled their high-profile legal battle out of court in May 2026, avoiding a trial. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Sony Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Daily Mail reporter was fired shortly after being pulled into the Baldoni-Lively legal drama.  <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images for Sony Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In a statement to Page Six, Vituscka said, \u201cI became a journalist to find the truth and have the courage to tell it. I spent two decades building my career and reputation through ethical reporting, integrity, and hard work, and I never imagined that refusing to compromise those principles could cost me everything I had built.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cThis lawsuit is about accountability and standing up for the basic principle that journalists should never be punished for protecting their integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Vituscka\u2019s lawyer told us in a statement, \u201cWe intend to hold the Daily Mail accountable for the way our client was treated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Leslie Sloane did not get back to us by deadline. Melissa Nathan had no comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fallout from the Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni legal saga has produced yet another lawsuit. Showbiz reporter James Vituscka is suing his former employer, the Daily Mail, claiming they terminated him after he became embroiled in the Lively-Baldoni drama. According to court docs obtained by Page Six Tuesday, Vituscka was named in the high-profile litigation&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/137110608.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}