CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses domestic violence.
Justin Baldoni has made a surprising move after his film It Ends With Us was overshadowed by rumours of a feud between himself and the rest of the cast.
The actor and director has hired Melissa Nathan, a top crisis public relations manager, to help protect his image, according to The Hollywood Reporter and People.
The PR manager used to work for top firm Hiltzik Strategies where she represented Johnny Depp during his trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, but recently branched out to create her own company called The Agency Group. Her talent roster is interesting, to say the least, with Scooter Braun’s HYBE America, Drake, Logan Paul and Johnny Depp on the books.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends With Us. (Image: Sony)
You can see how after Justin Baldoni claimed to want to spread awareness about domestic violence, working with a PR firm representing alleged abuser Johnny Depp is a bit of a strange move.
However, Melissa Nathan does seem to be one of the top Hollywood go-to PR professionals, so it’s possible Justin Baldoni went for the big guns considering his star power is miniscule compared to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
In THR’s announcement about The Agency Group in June this year, it was revealed the company has a “full-scale digital team led by Roza Kalantari, with a concentration on rapid crisis assessment and response across social media and online platforms. They specialise in media cleanup and brand management.”
This sounds like something Justin sorely needs, after what a mess the It Ends With Us press tour has become.
It all kicked off at the movie premiere, when fans noticed Justin didn’t interact with any of the other cast members or the book’s author, Colleen Hoover. He posed for photos only solo or with his wife, and even watched the movie in a separate cinema from Blake and the cast.
Where rumours of the It Ends With Us feud began. (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile, Blake was seen interacting with her co-stars and Colleen, and had her husband Ryan and their good friend Hugh Jackman on the carpet with her. Online sleuths soon realised that Blake, Colleen, Jenny Slate, and Brandon Sklenar don’t follow Justin on Instagram.
Since then, other interviews have surfaced where both Blake and Justin talk about their rumoured feud.
In an interview with Elle, Justin referenced “friction” and “navigating personalities” as the hardest part of making the movie.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Hits Radio UK, Blake talked about the creative differences during the post-production process, saying she had to fight to get a specific Lana Del Rey song included.
I reckon that now there are full PR teams involved, we’re going to see a lot of tea spilled from ‘sources’ on both sides. It’s getting so messy, and there’s no end in sight.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about domestic violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
Feature Image: Getty
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