Blake Lively has hired powerhouse publicist Kelly Bush Novak, ending a two-decade run with Leslie Sloane, weeks after settling her explosive legal battle with "It Ends With Us" co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
Lively's new representation move, reported in late September 2026, follows her departure from Leslie Sloane, who had served as her publicist for more than 20 years, dating back to the early stages of Lively's career when Sloane worked at the now-defunct firm BWR. Sloane, founder and owner of Vision PR, represented Lively throughout much of her professional trajectory — including through the entirety of the Baldoni saga.
Novak, founder and chief executive of ID-PR, represents a formidable roster of entertainment figures including Christopher Nolan, Lady Gaga, Seth Rogen, Alejandro G. Inarritu, Ben Stiller, Elliot Page, John Malkovich, Serena Williams, Lena Dunham and Diego Luna. The shift is being characterized as a fresh start for Lively, refocusing attention on her career moving forward. She continues to be represented by WME and Entertainment 360, with legal counsel including Lindsey Strasberg and David Weber.
The representation change comes after Lively settled a high-profile legal dispute with Justin Baldoni earlier this year. Lively had filed a complaint in December 2024 alleging that Baldoni and his company Wayfarer Studios engaged in an online smear campaign following her disclosure of sexual harassment allegations on the set of "It Ends With Us," the 2024 film they co-starred in and which Baldoni directed. Baldoni and Wayfarer subsequently filed a defamation suit naming Sloane as a defendant, while Baldoni also sued The New York Times over its coverage of Lively's complaint. Both suits were dismissed by a federal judge, and the settlement reportedly resulted in Baldoni covering Lively's legal expenses.
The litigation dragged some of Hollywood's biggest names into its orbit after hundreds of court exhibits were unsealed, including private text messages between Lively and Taylor Swift in which Swift called Baldoni an expletive. In her partially unsealed deposition, Lively described asking Swift to read and endorse her version of the film's script, to which Swift replied, "I'll do anything for you!!" Lively has since appeared in "Another Simple Favor," the sequel to her earlier film collaboration with director Paul Feig and co-star Anna Kendrick.
The publicist switch signals Lively's intent to reset the narrative after nearly two years dominated by courtroom headlines. Novak's arrival gives the actress access to one of the most discreet and effective reputation operations in Hollywood, a firm known for steering A-list clients through turbulent cycles. Industry observers say the move is less about crisis management than about repositioning: with the Baldoni litigation settled and new projects in the pipeline, Lively's team wants the conversation to return to her work rather than her legal battles.