Flaawsome Talk with Kjersti Flaa - April 08, 2026


Blake SLAUGHTERED by the PRESS !!


Episode Stats


Length

20 minutes

Words per minute

164.05008

Word count

3,302

Sentence count

178

Harmful content

Misogyny

16

sentences flagged

Toxicity

8

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in legal stalemate as settlement talks fall apart. Will this case go to trial? Will the judge allow it to go forward or will she throw it in front of a jury? Today's After Show Was Hosted By: Kjersti Flohr

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.160 Lake Lively the pariah. That's not a good word for a victim to be associated with.
00:00:10.680 Hi and welcome to Flossom Talk. I'm Kjersti Flohr, journalist, Hollywood truth teller,
00:00:14.840 and your voice of reason in a town built on delusion. Oh my god, is Justin Baldoni and the
00:00:21.740 Wayfair Parties and all the other defendants getting their revenge? Give them enough rope.
00:00:28.120 I think that was their strategy and it really worked.
00:00:32.140 So there's so much going on right now and Blake Lively's team is scrambling behind the scenes.
00:00:37.040 They just filed another letter to the judge saying,
00:00:40.140 hey, Baldoni's team doesn't want to tell us who's showing up in person in court
00:00:46.240 because they want to know who they can grill on the stand.
00:00:49.820 And Baldoni's team is saying, hey, we don't have to tell you any of this stuff.
00:00:54.100 And as we all now know, all the defendants are out of this case.
00:00:59.360 What's left are only parties.
00:01:01.960 Wayfair Production Company, TAG, the Crisis Management Company, and it ends with us Movie
00:01:08.780 LLC.
00:01:10.280 No person, there's no people anymore.
00:01:13.460 So Blake Lively's team obviously wants for Optics to have Justin Baldoni on that stand
00:01:19.020 and he really doesn't have to show up.
00:01:20.860 And now they're playing a little cat and mouse here.
00:01:22.660 I don't know how the judge is going to respond to this, but tomorrow is another interesting day
00:01:26.120 because then they will reveal their witness lists.
00:01:30.480 I am, of course, curious if I am on any of their witness lists.
00:01:33.800 They haven't reached out to me, but apparently you don't even have to do that.
00:01:37.300 But both parties are going to move forward with people that they think can help their case, obviously.
00:01:41.440 Blake Lively has 40 people on her list.
00:01:43.900 Yeah, so that deadline is tomorrow.
00:01:46.840 Also, there was a very interesting conference yesterday.
00:01:49.680 So the magistrate judge, her name is Sarah L. Cave, she reached out to both parties separately begging them to find a solution to settle before trial and they said no.
00:02:05.020 Both parties want to see this go to trial and I have to be honest, so do I.
00:02:11.580 So let's look at what the media is saying right now.
00:02:13.880 Fox just has this headline, Blake Lively risks becoming a pariah like Amber Heard if dragon attack backfires in court, says an expert.
00:02:25.720 Page Six is saying Blake Lively could be pushed out of the industry after brutal blow in Justin Baldoni court battle.
00:02:33.340 In the meantime, Blake Lively is doubling down.
00:02:37.700 She just posted that long rant word salad where she's saving the world and the children
00:02:43.720 and all that stuff I went through a couple of days ago.
00:02:46.340 She posted that same statement on her Instagram grid after all that backlash.
00:02:52.300 Can you believe it?
00:02:53.260 Like, girl, take a hint. 0.50
00:02:55.180 Anyways, just a reminder, my congrats on your little bump shirt is still for sale in my Etsy store.
00:03:00.520 I will leave a link below if you're interested in that.
00:03:03.940 Anyways, let's get into it.
00:03:05.920 So Daily Mail reported on this conference yesterday saying
00:03:08.980 Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in legal stalemate as settlement talks fall apart.
00:03:15.640 Blake and Justin have both rejected the latest effort to settle their legal war
00:03:19.800 after meeting with a judge in New York on Monday.
00:03:23.540 As I predicted, Blake will never settle now because she's lost everything.
00:03:28.260 she can't lose any more than she's already lost at this point if you ask me if she settles now
00:03:34.100 it looks like she's been completely defeated and I think for Baldoni and the Wayfair parties they're
00:03:39.760 thinking hey we can go to court we want to see her trying to put together her lies on that stand
00:03:45.420 and trying to convince a jury that all these things really happened to her so they're like hey
00:03:50.580 let her do that it says here that both both sides declined to end the bitter case which is about
00:03:56.240 alleged S.H. in retaliation by Baldoni on the set of evidence with us, the film he co-starred in
00:04:01.380 with Lively. The Daily Mail understands that no agreement has been reached in the behind the
00:04:05.680 closed door hearings, but more talks could take place soon. So I'm sure the court is going to try
00:04:11.780 their best to make them settle. Otherwise, this will be five weeks in a public courtroom. And
00:04:19.320 That is taxpayers' money being spent on this delusional lawsuit.
00:04:24.320 And I don't think the judge wants to see that happening, obvious, for so many obvious reasons.
00:04:29.580 It says here that the hearing took place three days after Judge Lyman, who is presiding over the case, dismissed 10 of Lively's 13 claims, including all of her SH allegations.
00:04:40.400 It's so funny when you see online these Blake Lively supporters saying that, oh, he just dismissed her SH allegations on a technicality.
00:04:48.520 Well, actually, Judge Lyman went through every point, more or less, of Blake Lively's accusations against Justin and said,
00:04:56.240 this is not considered SH. This is not. This is not. This is not.
00:05:00.120 Anyways, let's look at this desperate filing from Blake Lively's team this morning.
00:05:03.620 So they're basically asking the judge to force the Wayfair parties to tell them who is going to show up in person
00:05:11.660 because they want to plan their strategy before this goes to trial on who.
00:05:17.560 so they want to know who they can expect to have there in person to do a live testimony
00:05:23.880 and the Wayfair parties are saying we're not telling you why would we tell you that
00:05:29.320 why wouldn't we take this opportunity to make it a bit more difficult for you that's what Blake
00:05:33.680 Lively's team has been doing all the time and they don't really have to do this so the fact
00:05:39.020 that Blake Lively's team is complaining again just shows me that they're so desperate right now
00:05:44.480 So now, basically, Justin Baldoni, Jamie Heath, Steve Sarawis, Jennifer Abel, Melissa Nathan,
00:05:52.340 none of them actually have to show up in person.
00:05:55.780 And if they choose to just do a video testimony, they can do that.
00:05:59.940 Blake, on the other hand, if she doesn't show up in court, that looks terrible for her case.
00:06:05.540 I mean, she's the one accusing all these people of these things.
00:06:08.300 And I think it looks weak for their optics here if these people don't show up,
00:06:13.360 because then it's just Blake against the system or Blake against corporations.
00:06:18.640 That doesn't make her look like a real victim.
00:06:21.460 She needs to have these people there. 0.99
00:06:23.800 She needs to have these villains there to make her look like a real victim and a real martyr. 0.98
00:06:30.620 And that might not happen.
00:06:32.800 Of course, they don't want to show their strategy for Blake Lively's team.
00:06:36.660 They want to keep their flexibility and that's what they're doing.
00:06:39.400 They attached an exhibit here with some deadlines of when things are supposed to be filed and it
00:06:45.920 looks like tomorrow is the deadline for the witness list. And of course I'm a bit curious
00:06:50.340 to find out if I'm on the witness list and it's also going to be very interesting to see what
00:06:55.280 people Blake Lively is naming as her witnesses. I wonder if she's going to keep Hollywood celebrities 0.98
00:07:02.080 out of it or if she's going to bring in those people that she mentioned in earlier filings.
00:07:07.760 Amongst others, that's Hugh Jackman and Gigi Hadid.
00:07:11.080 And who knows, maybe Taylor Swift will appear on either party's witness list here.
00:07:16.280 Anyways, let's look into the media coverage because this headline is brutal.
00:07:20.520 It says here on Fox News that Blake Lively risks becoming a pariah like Amber Heard
00:07:24.940 if dragon attack backfires in court.
00:07:28.820 Crisis management expert says even a courtroom victory
00:07:31.920 may not protect Blake Lively from long-term brand damage.
00:07:37.280 Why did she sign that statement with a dragon? 1.00
00:07:41.140 That was such a stupid move. 1.00
00:07:44.460 I spoke about that statement a couple of days ago. 1.00
00:07:47.140 If you missed that, you have to go and watch that video.
00:07:48.900 It's amazing the word salad she put out and signed with a dragon.
00:07:53.220 The story says that Blake Lively seems to be planning a dragon attack
00:07:57.380 as referenced in her lengthy statement released after Baldoni's recent court win.
00:08:01.920 Everyone is mocking her and making fun of her in the press right now.
00:08:05.180 She explains she doesn't plan to stop fighting to expose the system and people who seek to harm, shame, silence and retaliate against victims.
00:08:15.840 Adding a dragon emoji at the end.
00:08:18.840 The defiant tone could carry significant risk as the case moves forward, legal experts told Fox News Digital.
00:08:26.560 And it says here, if the case reaches a jury and hinges on credibility, Lively could face steep reputational consequences.
00:08:37.400 Some experts warned she risks being viewed as a pariah, similar to figures in other high-profile courtroom defeats.
00:08:46.840 Blake Lively, the pariah.
00:08:49.460 That's not a good word for a victim to be associated with.
00:08:52.660 So they've spoken to a lawyer here named Jordan Matthews at Holtz Matthews LLP and he says the worst case scenario for Blake Lively is that if she goes to trial and the jury reaches a verdict completely exonerating Baldoni, deciding that he never retaliated against her, it could essentially put her in the same category as Amber Heard and she could be viewed as a pariah.
00:09:18.560 If she and Baldoni both testify, then this will largely become down to witness credibility
00:09:24.540 and how effective each of their legal teams are at cross-examination.
00:09:30.180 I have a feeling that Justin Baldoni will show up because I think he feels that he owes it to the public
00:09:37.700 because he's gotten so much support.
00:09:39.880 And as you know, he has nothing to hide.
00:09:42.360 So I think for sure we're going to see him in the courtroom if this goes to trial,
00:09:47.000 which it looks like it will.
00:09:48.560 And here they've spoken to another expert.
00:09:51.360 He is a crisis and reputation management expert.
00:09:55.140 His name is Dave Quast.
00:09:56.580 And he says that an emphasized attack mode is rarely the safest posture for a celebrity.
00:10:03.900 For Blake Lively, a more durable position is likely calm, credible, and unflinching. 0.80
00:10:10.680 If she appears focused on accountability rather than revenge, that strengthens her position.
00:10:18.560 If she appears completely consumed by the fight, that risks damaging her brand.
00:10:24.660 I think her brand is already so damaged that I will be surprised if she ever gets a job again outside of Ryan Reynolds' little universe and Paul Feig, that director who loves her, who's the only person who's publicly supported her for the last six months, by the way.
00:10:42.000 They also spoke to an entertainment lawyer called Trey Lavelle and he advised a different approach as Lively's reputation depends on the outcome of her trial against Baldoni.
00:10:52.940 He says it's important for Blake Lively to win the case in order to validate the lawsuit and this whole ordeal.
00:11:00.340 Her reputation has taken a very big hit and she needs to resurrect her brand, the first step of which will be to win the case. 0.94
00:11:09.480 As a result, aggressive litigation can only help her. 0.99
00:11:12.960 Now it's not the time for her to take the foot off the pedal. 0.99
00:11:17.080 However, even a courtroom victory may not protect Lively's reputation.
00:11:21.320 I feel like a lot of lawyers have different opinions on this.
00:11:24.960 But as we know, the most important thing here is public opinion.
00:11:28.420 And I think even if Blake Lively wins this at trial, which I don't think will happen,
00:11:34.100 but if it would happen, I think people would despise her even more
00:11:38.000 because they would think that was unfair and they would blame it on Blake
00:11:42.740 and the rage from that would be enormous.
00:11:46.760 And actually, that's what he says next.
00:11:48.920 He says courtroom success and positive public sentiments are not the same thing.
00:11:53.300 A celebrity can win a case and still do long-term damage to their brand,
00:11:56.920 particularly if they come across as overly combative or privileged.
00:12:02.460 The public is influenced by the tone of what is read and watches about a case.
00:12:06.340 and tone often matters as much as facts.
00:12:10.480 As you know, it could come across as Blake Lively is a bit privileged and entitled.
00:12:14.960 This lawyer continues to say the real reputational test for Blake
00:12:18.100 is whether she comes across as steady, credible and unwilling to be intimidated
00:12:22.560 as opposed to someone whose posture appears fueled by vengeance rather than accountability.
00:12:29.400 A protracted legal fight can project confidence, but it also prolongs scrutiny.
00:12:34.640 In high profile cases, positive public opinion doesn't always follow the legal success as we saw with the first Johnny Depp trial when he lost to Amber Heard in the UK.
00:12:48.700 It did not help Amber Heard and even after he won his case here in the US against her, he was not welcome back into the industry until I think recently he might have a comeback.
00:13:00.700 But it's been about four years and he still hasn't recovered.
00:13:03.880 The attorney says Blake's best outcome is being seen as someone who raised legitimate concerns, endured blowback and refused to back down while remaining composed.
00:13:14.500 Her worst outcome is that a valid grievance begins to look like an all-consuming battle with aggression overshadowing principle and the fight itself becomes the story.
00:13:26.200 I think we reached that point already.
00:13:28.180 And this lawyer says, with Baldoni's team already shaping the optics of early rulings,
00:13:33.640 settling now could make Lively look completely defeated.
00:13:37.640 Yes, I agree.
00:13:39.120 And that's why I think she will continue until the bitter end.
00:13:43.120 Then Matthews, this other lawyer, ends it here saying the benefit of settling is that
00:13:47.440 the parties basically control the outcome.
00:13:49.960 The parties could reach the settlement and they could both issue negotiated statements
00:13:54.540 that help control the narrative.
00:13:57.100 However, even though Baldoni had many of the claims dismissed,
00:14:00.600 they were largely dismissed based on technicalities and not on the merits.
00:14:04.600 As you know, the judge dismissed Baldoni's case back in June
00:14:07.940 and it was not based on any of the evidence or any of the claims that he brought forward.
00:14:13.560 The judge dismissed parts of his lawsuit because he said,
00:14:17.080 you don't have the right to sue.
00:14:18.620 You don't have the right to sue someone who already sued you first for essay agent retaliation.
00:14:22.900 And he also adds here his team, talking about Baldoni's team,
00:14:26.420 is doing a good job of spinning the ruling, making it sounds like the judge completely
00:14:30.360 exonerated Baldoni over claims of SH. If Lively settles now, then it will make her look weak. 0.96
00:14:37.240 Yes, very interesting. All these experts are saying a bit different things here,
00:14:42.000 so we'll see who's right in the end. I believe that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' egos are so
00:14:48.120 big that they are never going to settle. Anyways, we have another interesting story here on page six
00:14:53.900 saying Blake Lively could be pushed out of the industry after brutal blow in Justin Baldoni's court battle.
00:15:00.040 It says here that Blake Lively could become Hollywood's persona non grata
00:15:04.700 after the latest blow in her SH case against it ends with us co-star Justin Baldoni.
00:15:10.140 They've spoken to a brand specialist here, Kaylee Cornelius,
00:15:13.840 and she says it does look like a challenging path lies ahead of Blake Lively.
00:15:19.420 There is a real risk she could start to feel pushed out of the industry
00:15:22.540 and struggle to secure major roles or brand deals going forward. 0.98
00:15:26.600 Definitely.
00:15:27.800 I agree with you.
00:15:29.240 According to the PR maven, the fast-paced film industry can easily move on from Blake Lively's talents.
00:15:35.840 She says,
00:15:36.400 The film industry is now incredibly fast-moving and competitive,
00:15:40.300 and it often feels like a revolving door.
00:15:42.880 As one star's momentum dips, there's now a whole new wave of new talent ready to take their place.
00:15:49.860 Yeah, I think that's pretty obvious.
00:15:51.180 I think it all comes down to the power of Ryan Reynolds here.
00:15:54.300 If he can force or blackmail people into hiring her,
00:15:57.460 that's the only chance she has of ever getting a part again, if you ask me.
00:16:01.200 This expert says that with the impact of cancel culture and increased scrutiny,
00:16:05.840 there is less appetite to take risk on talent who may be seen as controversial or commercially uncertain.
00:16:12.780 That means even legacy names such as Blake are no longer untouchable
00:16:16.420 and guaranteed for security they once had.
00:16:20.040 She also agrees here, actually, with that lawyer that Fox News interviewed.
00:16:25.180 She says that if she, Blake Lively, is looking to prove a point and stand firmly behind her allegations,
00:16:31.140 this is arguably a battle she needs to see through to the end.
00:16:34.980 Stepping back or settling too early could be perceived by the public as a sign of doubt or even guilt,
00:16:41.840 which could only reinforce the narrative now forming around her.
00:16:47.160 She adds here, however, a settlement could become a smart option 1.00
00:16:50.260 if her messy court battle continues to further damage her image. 1.00
00:16:55.320 Yeah, I mean, that makes completely sense, obviously.
00:16:58.020 Here is another attorney that has a different opinion.
00:17:00.520 His name is Gregory Dahl, and he says that Lively has no claims left against Baldoni.
00:17:05.800 She now only has claims left against the various business entities involved.
00:17:11.720 So Justin is no longer threatened by any personal liability.
00:17:14.980 I think the odds of settlement went up significantly, he says.
00:17:19.180 Here, the brand specialist again is quoted as saying that having major claims dismissed gives him a stronger footing in the court of public opinion and allows him to reposition himself more confidently.
00:17:30.180 It doesn't mean he's completely in the clear in the public eyes yet, but it does shift the balance in his favor and gives him an opportunity to rebuild and strengthen his image from this point out.
00:17:43.560 talking about Justin Baldoni. Anyways, when all this is going on, Ryan Reynolds, her husband,
00:17:49.540 just keeps posting random things on social media. He keeps posting things from soccer matches
00:17:55.840 and just like previous movies that he did. He did a long story yesterday with just random stuff.
00:18:02.420 And today he published a commercial for Mint Mobile on his Instagram. Like what is going on
00:18:09.740 in his head right now. This is so absurd to me. Why hasn't he come up with a statement yet?
00:18:15.080 He's pressuring everyone else to support his wife, but he's not doing it himself. As I said
00:18:20.120 yesterday, they'll be trying to post things on social media constantly now to make this horrible
00:18:25.320 narrative that's online go away because everyone now sees like, oh, she made up all this stuff. 1.00
00:18:32.080 The judge tossed out basically her entire lawsuit and she looks like a pariah, a loser, a liar, 1.00
00:18:38.300 and she doesn't want that to be on the internet. 1.00
00:18:40.700 So she's trying to produce some content that will be picked up by the media 0.99
00:18:44.080 or so that her publicist, Leslie Sloan, can pick up her social media posts
00:18:48.840 and call up people and say, hey, this is what you're writing about today.
00:18:52.900 I think Entertainment Weekly actually got one of those calls.
00:18:55.820 They made this fluff piece, what happened to the Gossip Girl cast,
00:18:59.920 C. Blake, Lively, Leighton Meester and more stars then and now.
00:19:04.220 And they have photos of what they look like now, the Gossip Girl cast. 0.95
00:19:07.700 how is that relevant right now such a stupid fluff piece yes as i said a lot of exciting
00:19:13.920 things going on right now i will keep you guys posted whenever there's new stuff coming out so 0.64
00:19:18.820 please stay tuned and also if you haven't subscribed yet please do that and hit the
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00:19:29.380 can you do comments and i'll see you tomorrow bye
00:19:37.700 Thank you.