Justin Baldoni’s Alleged Fixer Is Fighting Back. Who Is He?

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On January 21st, Blake Lively’s legal team requested the Texas court to allow them to question Jed Wallace. They argue that he is crucial in the alleged defamation campaign against Lively, which she believes was initiated by Justin Baldoni as a response to her accusations of his unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior during their work on the upcoming summer 2024 film “It Ends with Us”.

The document mentions that Wallace, a 54-year-old resident of an upscale neighborhood south of Austin, operates a crisis management firm. This company caters to prominent individuals and wealthy clients, often collaborating with other PR and branding agencies for discreet assignments. His expertise lies in executing covert and untraceable campaigns on various social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and X, to manipulate public opinion about his clients and their rivals. He achieves this by creating fake user accounts on these platforms.

The document reveals that Wallace, a 54-year-old living in an affluent area near Austin, runs a crisis management business. This business serves high-profile and wealthy individuals, often working with other PR and branding firms for secret tasks. He’s skilled at creating untraceable social media campaigns on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and X to influence public opinion about his clients and their opponents. He does this by making fake user accounts on these platforms.

As a gamer, I’d put it this way: “I used my online influence nationwide, in cities like New York and LA, to orchestrate a digital force. This force was responsible for crafting, spreading, manipulating, and boosting negative content on social media platforms and online discussion forums, all under the guise of authentic user-generated posts.

On February 4th, I stepped up and filed a substantial defamation lawsuit in Texas federal court, alleging that Lively had wronged me with her accusations. My lawyer argued on my behalf, stating that neither I nor my firm were involved in any way with the sexual harassment, retaliation, or failure to investigate such claims. Instead, we’re a crisis mitigation team, helping clients navigate through real-life crises, traumas, and mental health issues. We primarily assist families and individuals who have been unfairly targeted, extorted, doxed, swatted, scammed, or are dealing with the most alarming situations. Lively’s team dismissed my action as a publicity stunt, but they seem pleased that I’ve come out into the open. Since then, they’ve withdrawn their deposition request in Texas and focused on their New York litigation instead, where the case is moving towards a 2026 federal trial. On February 12th, they subpoenaed me as part of the discovery process, and my attorneys have expressed eagerness to delve deeper into the inner workings of my business model and any actions I might have taken to divert attention from the serious sexual harassment and retaliation claims made by Lively.

It appears that Wallace has deliberately kept a minimal public presence up until now, with few details available about his business activities or clientele. On his now-removed LinkedIn profile, he portrayed himself as an expert “gun for hire” with a unique approach for identifying artists and trends. His involvement was initially unveiled when past court documents showed conversations between Baldoni’s representatives and Wayfarer Productions commending the impact of social media against actress Blake Lively and her spouse, actor-producer Ryan Reynolds. The majority of this backlash, they suggested, could be attributed to Wallace and his team’s efforts to change the public narrative.

2024 saw the submission of documents related to Lively’s lawsuit against Wayfarer, which revealed contact between Wayfarer executives and Wallace regarding these initiatives, as per the records from California’s Civil Rights Department. It seems that Lively’s legal team suspects that his consulting firm may have been working for Wayfarer, or perhaps through Melissa Nathan, a crisis publicist who also represents clients like Johnny Depp and Jake Paul.

Wallace maintains a unique bond with Bryan Freedman, a well-known attorney working for Baldoni and Wayfarer. In an interview with Variety, he acknowledged that while he may not be a ‘fixer’ in the traditional sense, he possesses exceptional skills and resources to navigate various international legal systems. Notably, both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have spoken to people who liken Wallace to Ray Donovan, the fictional troubleshooter for Hollywood elite on the Showtime series.

It’s not entirely certain to what extent attorney Freedman was professionally associated with Wallace. During the 2024 coverage of a THR profile that Freedman perceived as antagonistic, his crisis publicist briefly mentioned Wallace in their correspondence.

Neither Wallace nor Freedman were willing to comment for this article. Instead, Freedman, pointing out some unspecified inaccuracies, implied that because Disney and Marvel are advertisers with _THR_ and its parent company, Penske Media Corporation, this publication might be favoring Reynolds. In January, Freedman publicly wrote letters to the CEOs of these companies, alleging that Reynolds had unfairly mocked Baldoni using a minor character called Nicepool in their tentpole _Deadpool & Wolverine_.

In a lawsuit for defamation and extortion last year, tech CEO Christian Lanng accused Freedman’s law firm of creating deepfake narratives using fake websites and social media accounts. He alleged they did this to increase their settlement amount against him by fabricating stories about him. Later, he claimed that an unidentified consultant used a fictitious character on a platform (previously known as Twitter) to falsely accuse Lanng of sexual misconduct and encourage others to make similar claims to Freedman. Additionally, this consultant allegedly planned to harm the opponent and his company through trolling on Reddit forums.

In the courtroom, Freedman has rejected these accusations, and earlier he told THR that it seems like a story straight out of a spy novel about the CIA. Now, speaking on behalf of Lanng, his lawyer Christopher Frost remarks about the disclosures regarding Wallace: “We’re keeping a close eye on this issue.” Regarding their claim of a ‘social media smear campaign’, he states: “If Lanng’s allegations were once doubted, I believe there is less doubt today,” considering the now-known relationship between Freedman and Wallace.

Back in 2009, THR reported on how attorney Freedman’s representation of gossip blogger Perez Hilton (a strong advocate for Baldoni now) paved the way for him to create a profitable specialty, safeguarding celebrities and others seeking to eliminate defamatory comments about them from the internet. At that time, Freedman mentioned that this offshoot, Electronic Reputation Protection Services, focused on identifying anonymous posters, with Freedman stating, “I’ve been overwhelmed in recent years by people wanting to improve their reputation.

Experts in crisis communication notice that the tactic of “influence operations” orchestrated by Wallace is becoming increasingly frequent within the entertainment sector. This is largely due to the impact social media has on shaping narratives and perspectives in mainstream media. As one professional puts it, “It’s more widespread than you might imagine, even if you already think it’s widespread.” These operations often involve hiring individuals from Eastern Europe or India to manage bot and fake accounts at a low cost per post. In some instances, these activities are not just outsourced but also happen within the organizations themselves; for example, in 2023, HBO CEO Casey Bloys apologized for using false Twitter accounts to criticize TV critics within their own ranks.

An experienced professional in digital marketing, who often collaborates with famous personalities, describes this type of work as stemming from a sense of urgency: “When conventional PR professionals can’t bury a story, this is the method used for confusion. It’s like coloring over a picture with a crayon. The objective is to make things unintelligible. You don’t even want to examine it anymore.

Back in 2021, when I was deeply engrossed in my gaming world, news about Bam Margera’s lawsuit against Paramount Pictures and Johnny Knoxville, along with other folks connected to Jackass Forever, caught my attention. You see, Bam claimed he was unfairly let go from the franchise movie because of a breach in a wellness agreement, all while battling alcoholism publicly for years before that. This revelation adds another layer to the behind-the-scenes drama that Wallace seems to be part of, even before the Baldoni-Lively scandal unfolded.

Eventually, Margera decided not to pursue the lawsuit. However, before that, lawyers representing Paramount clarified to the court that Dickhouse Productions, which they referred to as a leading expert in planning and executing treatment and recovery programs, assigned Wallace to oversee Margera’s wellness program. This supervision was crucial for determining his involvement in the film. Interestingly, or perhaps not, Freedman has also provided legal services to Dickhouse.

It seems that THR‘s discussions with influential figures in the recovery community suggest that Wallace, whose expertise in addiction treatment isn’t clearly defined, may not carry as much weight within this field as suggested by the Paramount filing. Nevertheless, he does boast a background in managing communications for rehabs and working alongside interventionist Heather Hayes, who gained prominence through A&E’s Intervention. (His name has been removed from a page on her website that outlines her company’s crisis intervention services.)

To date, the intricacies of Wallace’s work have largely been shrouded in secrecy. However, the ongoing legal disputes suggest this state of affairs may not persist for much longer.

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2025-02-13 20:28