Blake Lively’s brother-in-law Bart Johnson is coming to her defense after she sued It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni.
“Her complaints were filed during the filming. On record. Long before the public conflict. The cast unfollowed him for a reason,” Johnson, 54, alleged in the comments section of The New York Times’ Instagram on Saturday, December 21. “Read this article before spiting [sic] ignorance.”
“His PR team was stellar. Gross and disgusting but highly effective,” Johnson continued. “Read the article, their text message exchanges and his PR campaign strategy to bury her by any means necessary. No one is with out [sic] faults. But the public got played.”
Johnson claimed that “of course mistakes were made” and pointed to Lively’s many responsibilities, including being a mom of four to her and husband Ryan Reynolds’ children.
“But just IMAGINE being a stay at home mom raising 4 kids, married to the busiest man in Hollywood and at the same time being a girl boss running multiple companies while writing, producing, running non profits and working 16+ hour days from home so you can be with your kids,” he wrote. “Launching 2 new businesses you been working on / developing for many years (launch scheduled by distributors, not you, btw) all while getting attacked by a VERY expensive PR smear campaign because you filed a sexual harassment claim for the very film you have to go out and promote with just the right tone or you get cooked!?”
Johnson noted that it looks like Lively, 37, is “doing a hell of a job to me and trying to do good things for the right reasons.”
“But yeah let’s post from our couch how much we hate her for making mistakes,” he continued. “That makes sense. I mean, she’s been rude in these interviews that magically played on repeat. I saw it. None of us have ever been wrong or mean. Never. We should discount decades of good for those few bad moments. Glad the microscope isn’t on me every day of my life.”
In another comment, Johnson clarified what he meant by a “girl boss,” explaining the term “means a woman that is kicking a$$ as an entrepreneur and/or business owner in what has been previously dominated by men, and showing they are every bit as capable and qualified if not more so in that space. She’s my hero as is any woman charging it like this. You’re free to define it as you wish, but that’s on you.”
Johnson’s comments came one day after Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni. In the lawsuit, which was obtained by Us Weekly after it was reported by TMZ and The New York Times, Lively accused Baldoni of launching a “social manipulation” campaign against her to “destroy” her reputation. (Baldoni’s lawyer called the accusations “completely false” in a statement to Us.)
Johnson’s wife, Robyn Lively, supported her sister via social media on Saturday. “FINALLY justice for my sister @blakelively,” Robyn, 52, wrote via Instagram Story, sharing screenshots of a New York Times article about Blake’s lawsuit.
Johnson previously came to Blake’s defense after fans began speculating that there was tension between the It Ends With Us costars she was seen promoting the film with some of her costars — while Baldoni didn’t join for interviews or press opportunities.
In the comments section of Johnson’s August Instagram post, a user critiqued Blake for “promoting happiness in a domestic violence setting without any regard for any victims.”
“Ellen I’m really sorry you feel that way. I’m sure you have a huge heart and want the best. I can promise you the truth has not come out yet. Blake worked harder on this film than anything I’ve seen her do my entire life,” he wrote at the time. “Because it meant so much to her. The message is in the book. And in the movie. Not in short clips / interviews. She is the reason the message / this movie/ is getting out.”
Johnson also acknowledged that nobody is perfect. “Were mistakes made? Yes. I make mistakes in life,” he wrote. “But they aren’t under a microscope. Anyway, I respect your views. I got nothing but love for you. ❤️.”
After the response, the user thanked Johnson for his “lovely comment.” Johnson replied, “Thanks for that kind response Ellen to that Ellen. Means a lot. ❤️❤️ The truth hasn’t come out yet. It’s going to.”
