Entertainment
Blake Lively’s Legal Saga Leaves Reporter Fighting Back
The legal war between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is now creating fallout beyond the actors themselves.
A showbiz reporter who found himself pulled into the increasingly bitter dispute after his private messages became part of the court record is now suing his former employer.
James Vituscka claims the Daily Mail retaliated against him after his involvement in the case, while the newspaper strongly rejects his account. His lawsuit adds an unexpected workplace battle to an already sprawling Hollywood feud.
James Vituscka was covering the “It Ends With Us” controversy as a senior U.S. entertainment reporter when his conversations with people on both sides of the dispute unexpectedly placed him inside the legal battle.
According to his court documents obtained by Page Six, Blake Lively’s longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, told him in August 2024 that Baldoni was the source of tension on the film’s set, but Vituscka says she did not tell him that Baldoni had sexually harassed or assaulted Lively.
After the “Gossip Girl” actress filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, Vituscka says he contacted the director’s crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, about the apparent discrepancy.
During the exchange, he accidentally used the words “sexually assaulted” rather than “sexually harassed,” but maintains that he subsequently clarified that Sloane had never told him anything about sexual harassment.
Those messages eventually appeared in Baldoni’s legal filings, thrusting Vituscka into the middle of the dispute.
He claims his comments were selectively quoted and stripped of context, after which he was subpoenaed for documents and testimony.
Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni’s Fight Creates A New Workplace Dispute
Vituscka’s involvement allegedly became a problem not only in court but also at the Daily Mail. His lawsuit claims that the subpoena triggered a disagreement with the newspaper over how he should respond, eventually leading to changes in the way his work was supervised.
He alleges the newspaper discouraged him from obtaining his own lawyer and instead “pressured” him to sign a declaration containing language he was uncomfortable with, including a statement that he “regretted” the actions that led to his involvement.
Vituscka claims the treatment ultimately resulted in his termination in June 2025. His lawsuit, filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court, accuses the Daily Mail of whistleblower retaliation, sex and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, interference with protected rights and wrongful termination.
He is seeking damages that include lost wages, emotional-distress damages and punitive damages. The complaint had not yet been reviewed by the County Clerk at the time of publication.
Lively’s Court Fight Sparks A Fierce Response From The Daily Mail
The Daily Mail has categorically denied Vituscka’s allegations and rejected his description of how the declaration came about.
In a statement to Page Six, the newspaper called his lawsuit “an inaccurate account of the circumstances surrounding the declaration he signed in connection with the Lively-Baldoni litigation.”
The outlet specifically disputed the claim that Vituscka was pressured into signing something he believed was untrue.
“At no point did Daily Mail pressure James to sign a declaration he believed to be untrue,” the newspaper said, adding, “In fact, the declaration he signed was consistent with what he had already told senior management after the Baldoni complaint first came to our attention.”
The Daily Mail also defended its expectations of its journalists, saying, “As a trusted news organization, we expect our journalists to act with honesty and integrity, and we rely upon that important expectation.”
The newspaper went further, rejecting Vituscka’s characterization of himself as a whistleblower who suffered retaliation or discrimination.
It said his “claims that he is a ‘whistleblower’ who suffered ‘retaliation,’ ‘harassment,’ ‘discrimination’ or other unlawful treatment are entirely meritless and unsupported by the facts, and we are confident they will be soundly dismissed.”
The dispute therefore leaves Vituscka fighting a separate legal battle over what happened after his reporting became entangled with the Blake Lively and Baldoni litigation.
Lively Faces New Deposition Fight Over Legal Fees
The fallout surrounding Blake Lively’s legal battle has continued to spread into new corners, with another dispute now putting the actress back in the middle of a court fight.
A few days ago, TMZ reported that Jed Wallace, the Texas-based PR consultant who worked with Justin Baldoni’s team during his legal battle with Lively, was seeking another opportunity to question her under oath.
The request came as Lively pursued legal fees tied to the litigation, creating a fresh dispute even after Wallace’s own case against her was dismissed.
Lively’s attorneys strongly opposed the request, arguing that Wallace had already had his opportunity to depose her.
They characterized the move as “another desperate, meritless attempt by Wallace to go after Ms. Lively,” according to a statement to the outlet.
Wallace’s request concerned questions surrounding Lively’s bid to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and costs from him. His attorneys argued that they needed additional information before the money could be released.
Blake Lively Seeks Nearly $8 Million In Legal Fees
The dispute over Lively’s legal costs stemmed from a much larger financial request she made after her litigation with Justin Baldoni moved toward a settlement.
In June, The Blast stated that Lively asked a federal judge to award her approximately $8 million to cover legal fees and expenses connected to Baldoni’s now-dismissed lawsuit against her.
Her filing sought about $7.5 million in attorneys’ fees, along with roughly $540,000 in additional costs. Those expenses included legal research, travel and meals accumulated during the lengthy litigation.
Lively’s attorneys also disclosed that lead lawyer Michael Gottlieb billed $2,187 per hour while working on the case, below his standard rate of $2,350.
The request followed the dismissal of Baldoni’s lawsuit in June 2025 and the eventual resolution of the remaining litigation in 2026.
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