Nick Viall weighs on Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively The ongoing lawsuit sagasharing his own opinion on And it ends with us exit.
Bachelor's degree star Bustle said In a profile published on Thursday, January 16, he was “not surprised” by the casting And it ends with us He distanced himself from Baldoni, 40, after legal issues arose between him and Lively, 37.
“I had the opportunity to interview Justin a couple of years ago on my show, and I had a feeling he wasn't the person he portrayed himself to be out loud,” Viall, 44, told Bustle.. “When the story broke that the cast and author of the book (on which the film is based) had clearly distanced themselves from him, I was not surprised. However, I was surprised at how quickly the Internet began trying to find reasons to discredit Blake by bringing up old interviews and alleged errors past.
“I think the Internet has made it easier for people to share other people's opinions rather than put forth their own. This story kind of reinforced that,” he added.
Viall interviewed Baldoni for his podcast “The Viall Files” in January 2023. As rumors of poor relations between Lively and Baldoni circulated in August 2024, Viall questioned why Baldoni had hired a public relations crisis manager. Melissa Nathanwhich he previously represented Johnny Depp During his legal battle with Amber Heard.
“This PR team took Amber Heard out on the internet,” Viall said on his podcast at the time. “It was a total assault on her character.”
In the interview with Bustle, Viall referred to his previous comments regarding Inferior/vital hostility He said he was just “sharing his opinion.”
“When I shared my opinion on this topic, I didn’t see him speaking out as much; I was sharing my opinion and challenging my audience to ask themselves different questions.
Rumors of a rift between Baldoni and Lively first surfaced in August 2024 during the promotional campaign for And it ends with us When the couple, who were the main actors in the film, did not click together.
In December 2024, She filed a lawsuit against Baldoni For sexual harassment. (Baldoni denied all the accusations against him in the lawsuit he obtained Us Weekly.)
And it ends with us author Colin Hoover Describe it vividly as “honest” and “courageous” on her Instagram account on the same day the lawsuit was reported.
Days later, Baldoni was among 10 plaintiffs Which launched a $250 million lawsuit against New York Times For her coverage of Lively's accusations. (Official spokesman New York Times He said we That the outlet plans to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”)
Lively filed a lawsuit on the same day against Baldoni in federal court in New York that reversed her previous allegations — which had been filed with the California Department of Civil Rights.
Baldoni's studio filed a new lawsuit Thursday against Lively, her publicist leslie sloan, And her husband, Ryan Reynoldsdemanding compensation amounting to $400 million. The lawsuit includes charges of civil extortion, defamation, false invasion of privacy and other allegations.