Blake Lively Turns to Lady Gaga's PR Firm After Ending 20-Year Run With Publicist Named in Baldoni Suit

Blake Lively has signed with Kelly Bush Novak, whose public relations (PR) firm, ID, works for Lady Gaga, Page Six reported. The move follows Lively's split from Leslie Sloane, her publicist for about 20 years. Justin Baldoni sued Sloane in his $400M (about £300M) lawsuit. A court dismissed his case against her in June 2025.

A publicist manages which interviews, photos, and quotes reach the press, so the switch puts Lively's public image in new hands. Citing three sources, that website reported the split on 29 September, five months after her case over the film It Ends With Us settled. Neither Lively nor Sloane has given a reason.

Why Sloane Was a Defendant

Baldoni and his film company, Wayfarer Studios, filed the suit on 16 January 2025. Their complaint accused Lively, Sloane, Sloane's firm Vision PR, and Lively's husband, Ryan Reynolds, of extortion and of spreading damaging lies about Baldoni. Baldoni's side said the four had run a smear campaign, which Sloane denied. Judge Lewis Liman's 9 June 2025 ruling in Manhattan also threw out the suit against Lively and Reynolds. The timeline below tracks each step of the dispute.

Lively's lawyers, Esra Hudson and Michael Gottlieb, welcomed Liman's ruling. They named Sloane among those Baldoni's side had 'dragged into their retaliatory lawsuit.' Lively posted on Instagram the same day about how much such lawsuits can hurt. Sloane began working with Lively around the time of Gossip Girl, the 2007 teen drama that made the actress a star. Lively later followed Sloane to Vision PR when Sloane set it up in 2014.

How the Case Ended for Lively

Lively's own case accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on set and of a smear campaign once she spoke up. Baldoni denied wrongdoing. On 2 April 2026, Liman threw out 10 of her 13 claims, including sexual harassment. That April order left three claims, among them retaliation, for a jury to hear. A settlement with Wayfarer Studios on 4 May ended those claims two weeks before the trial, and the joint statement named no payment.

Lively also wanted Baldoni's side to pay the legal bills from his suit. On 26 August, Liman ordered Baldoni and his studio to pay her just over $407,000 (about £305,000). She had sought about $8M (about £6M) in all. The judge found her lawyers had billed for too many hours. Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, called the ruling 'a significant victory for my clients.' Lively's lawyers said the award showed that revenge suits carry real costs.

What Lively's New Team Changes

Novak founded ID back in 1993. She still runs ID, and its clients include the director Christopher Nolan and the tennis star Serena Williams. Reports of the 30 September signing say Lively will keep her agents at the talent agency WME, her managers, and her legal team.

Sloane still runs Vision PR, whose clients have included the actors Katie Holmes and Uma Thurman and the comedian Chris Rock. Lively has since starred in Another Simple Favor, a 2025 sequel to A Simple Favor, co-starring Anna Kendrick. It premiered at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, in March 2025.