• Blake Lively filed a legal complaint against her "It Ends with Us" costar, Justin Baldoni.
• Taylor Swift and Hailey Bieber appeared in the complaint.
• Lively's complaint said Baldoni and his team conspired to damage her reputation.

In a new legal complaint, Blake Lively said that her "It Ends with Us" costar, Justin Baldoni, who also directed and produced the film, conspired to damage her reputation and credibility.

The complaint also mentions Taylor Swift and Hailey Bieber.

Lively named Baldoni and six other defendants in her complaint, including the CEO and cofounder of his production studio, Wayfarer Studios. She also named communications crisis manager Melissa Nathan of The Agency Group PR and Baldoni's publicist, Jennifer Abel.

In the complaint, Lively said Baldoni and his team created a "multi-tiered plan" using "social manipulation" to "destroy" her reputation.

"This plan went well beyond standard crisis PR. What Ms. Nathan proposed included a practice known as 'Astroturfing,' which has been defined as 'the practice of publishing opinions or comments on the internet, in the media, etc. that appear to come from ordinary members of the public but actually come from a particular company or political group,'" according to the complaint.

The complaint says that Baldoni and his team discussed controversies around Swift and Bieber as strategic suggestions while conspiring against Lively.

Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, said Lively's complaint was a "desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation."

Baldoni and his team considered leveraging backlash around Swift and the 'weaponization of feminism,' the complaint says

Nathan's communications company shared a "Scenario Planning" document with Baldoni and others that outlined potential strategies "should [Ms. Lively] and her team make her grievances public," the complaint says.

The complaint includes a copy of that document, which Lively's attorneys obtained through a civil subpoena.

The planning document discussed what Baldoni's team could do if Lively's husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, publicly defended her against critics. It included a reference to Swift, who is a friend of Lively. The pair have attended Kansas City Chiefs football games together and have been photographed by paparazzi while hanging out.

"As part of this, our team can also explore planting stories about the weaponization of feminism and how people in BL's circle, like Taylor Swift, have been accused of utilizing these tactics to 'bully' into getting what they want," the planning document says, according to the complaint.

The complaint says Baldoni used a social media post about Bieber and bullying as an example strategy

Lively's complaint also contained screenshots of text message conversations between Baldoni and his team, which were also obtained through a civil subpoena. According to the complaint, Baldoni sent a text message to his publicist, Abel, in early August.

"A few days later, on August 5, 2024, Mr. Baldoni set the narrative for the social media campaign, sending Ms. Abel a screenshot of a thread on X that had accused another female celebrity of bullying women," the complaint said. "Mr. Baldoni stated, 'this is what we would need.'"

The social media post included two pictures of Bieber and insinuated she had bullied other women. That narrative gained traction on social media in 2023 and resulted in widespread backlash against Bieber.

A representative for Lively referred Business Insider to a statement she shared with The New York Times.

"I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted," she said.

Lively also said neither she nor her representatives planted negative stories about Baldoni or Wayfarer Studios.

Baldoni's attorney said the accusations in Lively's complaint were "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."

Representatives for Bieber and Swift did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

’Tis the season for Colin Jost and Michael Che’s annual “Weekend Update” joke swap on Saturday Night Live — and this time Jost’s wife, Scarlett Johansson, was front and center in the audience.

During the Saturday, December 21, episode, Jost, 42, asked, “Why?” when he saw a photo of Johansson, 40, flash on the screen.

“I want to dedicate this next joke to my boo, Scarlett Johansson,” Jost said with a laugh.

The camera then cut to the actress backstage, shaking her head while holding a glass of water.

Watch Colin Jost Read Michael Che’s Diss About Scarlett Johansson Movies

“No, oh no,” Jost continued. “She’s so genuinely worried. … Hey, boo. Y’all know Scarlett just celebrated her 40th birthday, which means I’m about to get up out of there.”

Jost and Johansson both burst out laughing, with the Black Widow star adding, “Oh, my gosh. Why?”

Che, 41, then pointed out that “there’s a little more” to the joke.

“Nah, nah, I’m just playing. We just had a kid together and y’all ain’t see no pictures of him yet ‘cause he black as hell,” Jost read aloud. “S—, I ain’t afraid of you mofos.”

Johansson, who shares 3-year-old son Cosmo with Jost, then took a sip of her beverage and added, “Oh, s—.”

Jost and Che have kept up with their annual holiday tradition throughout their joint tenure on SNL. During the final episode of the year, they secretly write jokes for one another. The two comedians only find out what the other penned live on the air, which often causes “panic” for Johansson.

“I now rarely watch [SNL] without having a sense of … not overwhelming panic, just like a slight underwhelming panic because I just feel like at any moment something’s going to fall apart,” Johansson said during a July 2021 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “And that’s the excitement of SNL and for all audiences, right? Because it’s absolutely live.”

Scarlett Johansson 'Fully Blacked Out' During ‘SNL’ Joke About Her Body

She continued at the time, “But when you’re emotionally invested in it and not just entertained by it, it takes on a little bit of a different life.”

Jost and Johansson initially met when she hosted an episode of SNL, later getting married in 2020. On Saturday, she also appeared in the cold open to celebrate emcee Martin Short.

Since the holiday show was former cast member Short’s fifth time hosting, he finally received an invite to the elusive Five-Timers Club. Johansson, Tom Hanks, Tina Fey and Short’s BFF-turned-collaborator Steve Martin helped welcome him to the ranks.

Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Not all shows have stuck to their original premise over the years — in fact some changed their central story lines on purpose.

Family Matters is a great example since it shifted its cast. The sitcom, which aired from 1989 to 1998, was a spinoff of Perfect Strangers that followed a middle-class Black family living in Chicago. The hit sitcom starred Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton, Darius McCrary, Kellie Williams, Jaimee Foxworth, Bryton McClure and Michelle Thomas.

Jaleel White joined Family Matters halfway through the first season.

“My performance was so well received during that initial episode that they began writing me into the next episode,” White recalled in his November 2024 memoir, Growing Up Urkel. “They even reshot new teasers for the season that featured me prominently, as if l’d been an original cast member all along.”

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Meanwhile, Westworld writers enjoyed not being confined to a specific story line. (The dystopian show initially pulled inspiration from the 1973 film of the same name before evolving the story.)

“One of the fun things about me for the show, when [producer] Lisa [Joy] and I were talking about it way back when, was the ability of this show to shift genres every season, and the invitation to do it,” creator Jonathan Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2020. “We felt we had an open invitation to play around, especially in this moment where TV is reinventing itself constantly, to have a show that reinvents itself season after season.”

At the time, Nolan highlighted that the genre changed from one season to the next. “You have a Western, you have a samurai movie, you have war movies, you have science-fiction. There are all of the different versions of the future you have seen over the years in movies,” he added. “We get to play around with all of that, and make text of all of that. So the idea that next season will feel different and distinct in genre from the previous seasons? Yes, that’s absolutely part of the structure of the show.”

Keep scrolling for more shows that changed their premise between seasons:

‘Twin Peaks’ (ABC)

The Original Vision: The series, which ran from 1990 to 1991, followed an investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) in the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington. The series developed a cult following in part because of its campy storytelling — and creator David Lynch and Mark Frost‘s unique vision.

Where the Show Ended Up: According to Lynch, there was never any plan to reveal who killed Laura. But after the network forced the show to answer that mystery, Twin Peaks had to pivot to a larger conversation about good and evil.

TV Shows With Time Jumps: ‘Outer Banks,’ ‘Riverdale’ and More

‘Westworld’ (HBO)

The Original Vision: The season started out in a futuristic theme park with androids that look like humans staging a rebellion.

Where the Show Ended Up: As the show continued to air, the hosts were brought into the outside world and became integrated within human society.

‘iZombie’ (The CW)

The Original Vision: Based on a DC comic book series of the same name, iZombie was a take on a supernatural police procedural that had Liv Moore (Rose McIver) eating brains from people who were murdered to help the authorities figure out what happened to them.

Where the Show Ended Up: The third season introduced a major change when a zombie-run private military organization forced everyone in Seattle into a zombie state. As a result, Liv traded working at the morgue into a job where she smuggled people in and helped them complete their transformation into zombies.

‘Mom’ (CBS)

The Original Vision: The Chuck Lorre-produced sitcom originally introduced three generations of mothers. Anna Faris played Christy, who found out her teenage daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), was pregnant. While attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, Christy ran into her estranged mother Bonnie (Allison Janney), who also battled substance abuse problems.

Where the Show Ended Up: Christy’s attempts to raise her two kids with Bonnie’s help quickly fizzled out. Instead, the show pivoted to Christy, Bonnie and their group of friends from AA. This dynamic shifted again when Farris left the series during season 8.

‘Riverdale’ (The CW)

The Original Vision: Based on the iconic Archie Comics, the teen drama initially focused on a group of friends who came together to uncover the dark secrets that existed within their town.

Where the Show Ended Up: Riverdale didn’t wait long to push boundaries with their storylines, which ranged from cults to killer board games to time travel.

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‘Saved by the Bell’ (NBC)

The Original Vision: The first season of Saved by the Bell was actually titled Good Morning, Miss Bliss and starred Hayley Mills as a junior high school teacher navigating complicated situations with help from the students in her eighth grade class.

Where the Show Ended Up: Good Morning, Miss Bliss was ultimately retooled into Saved by the Bell, which changed the setting from Indianapolis to Los Angeles and recast many of the roles to focus on the students.

‘Scream Queens’ (Fox)

The Original Vision: The slasher series, which premiered in 2015, starred an ensemble cast that included Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Glen Powell and Keke Palmer. During the show’s first season, Scream Queens focused on members of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority that were getting killed off by the mysterious Red Devil killer.

Where the Show Ended Up: Season 2 shook things up by having the satirical anthology introduce the Green Meanie that targeted a hospital and its staff — which included many of the cast members from the first season. Stars such as Kirstie Alley, Taylor Lautner, John Stamos and James Earl III rounded out the sophomore season.

‘Scrubs’ (NBC)

The Original Vision: Scrubs debuted in 2001 as a medical comedy focused on the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital. More specifically, it was about J.D.’s (Zach Braff) journey from naive med school grad to confident physician.

Where the Show Ended Up: After season 8, ABC renewed the show for a surprise season, which took Scrubs from a hospital to medical school.

‘Cougar Town’ (ABC)

The Original Vision: Created by Bill Lawrence in 2009, Cougar Town introduced Courteney Cox as a single mother named Jules who decided to get back into dating by spending time with men younger than her.

Where the Show Ended Up: Before the first scene was even over, Jules found love with her neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins) — who happened to be her own age. Cougar Town then pivoted to a show about a friend group in the fictional town of Gulfhaven, Florida. Since Cougar Town couldn’t change its title, the opening credits would usually suggest other options as a joke.

'Superman & Lois,' 'The Witcher' and More TV Shows That Recast Characters

‘Family Matters’ (ABC)

The Original Vision: Family Matters was a spinoff of ABC’s Perfect Strangers with Carl (VelJohnson) and Harriette (Payton) at the helm for the first few episodes.

Where the Show Ended Up: White joined Family Matters in 1989 — halfway through the first season — as the Winslows’ nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. The role was only meant to last one episode, but Urkel became a breakout character that paved the way for White to join the main cast.

‘Kevin Can Wait’ (CBS)

The Original Vision: The sitcom, which premiered in 2016, initially followed a newly retired police officer Kevin (Kevin James), his wife Donna (Erinn Hayes) and their three kids. Kevin Can Wait showed Kevin and Donna navigating life after their daughter Kendra dropped out of college to support her new fiancé.

Where the Show Ended Up: Kevin Can Wait took a major risk when Hayes’ character was written off in between seasons. After killing Donna off, the show replaced Hayes with James’ former The King of Queens costar, Leah Remini, as the new female lead. While the first season centered on Kevin’s family life, the sophomore season had Kevin focusing on his new career, partnership with Vanessa (Remini) and life as a single parent.

Kevin Can Wait was canceled after two seasons and the outrage over Hayes’ shocking departure inspired AMC’s dramedy Kevin Can F**k Himself.

Married to Medicine’s Quad Webb is no longer hiding her knight in shining armor.

After keeping her boyfriend, King, private for nearly one year, the reality star is ready to introduce her man to the Bravo series and the world.

“For me, I move in silence,” Quad, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month while promoting Married to Medicine. “In terms of keeping him private to myself, it was just us establishing our relationship and I didn’t want us to be affected by any outside influences or any noise. Also, let’s just keep it real. I had to make sure that he was there for the right reasons.”

Since the show began in 2013, Quad has opened up her life to Bravo cameras. Whether experiencing a divorce from Dr. Greg Lunceford or dealing with friendship breakups with certain cast members, the women’s health advocate hasn’t shied away from sharing the good, bad and ugly of her reality.

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In this season of her life, however, Quad is feeling good after beginning a romantic relationship away from the cameras.

“I wanted to truly get to know him, to get to know his family and to see if this was something that was for the long hall,” she explained to Us. “We see a lot of times, people jump into these relationships and they’re just these little micro relationships. They’re three months here and it’s a new person on social media. Then you got six months here and it’s a new person and I’m just not into that. I would rather just wait for God to bring me my person and really take the time to craft and develop that relationship before I bring that relationship to the masses.”

During a recent episode of Married to Medicine, Quad was treated to a lavish birthday party courtesy of King, 41. Many cast members were surprised to learn their costar and friend was dating someone so special.

“I’m out and about in Atlanta, and I never [saw] him and her together, which made us all think originally that maybe it was a rent-a-husband,” Toya Bush-Harris joked to Us Weekly earlier this month at DIRECTV’s “Christmas at Kathy” Hilton’s party. “But when I tell you, when they look at each other, they look like they love each other. It’s wonderful.”

While Quad acknowledges that she may have “pissed off” some fans and colleagues for keeping her relationship private, she appears to have no regrets.

“It wasn’t their business from the beginning,” she explained. “I have never been that nosy that I want to know who someone is sleeping with. I don’t give a damn.”

As viewers keep watching Married to Medicine to learn more about King, Quad admitted to Us that the relationship caught her by surprise.

On May 15, 2023, however, everything changed when a “light bulb just went off” and she decided to pursue a romantic relationship with King.

“We were reconnected by a mutual friend and I remember looking at him, and I said, ‘You like me, don’t you?’” Quad said. “He’s fine. He’s handsome. He’s suave. His demeanor is real chill and I was really drawn into him in the way that he conducts himself as a man.”

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As their relationship continues to grow in Atlanta, Quad — who recently launched her S.A.S.S. All Purpose Seasoning on Amazon — is looking towards the future and promises she has nothing to hide.

“The Lord knows that I have been through some things. It’s just timing,” she said. “I stayed prayerful, and it just worked itself out. Literally, this man shows up, and then the light bulb goes off. I thought he was so fine too.”

Married to Medicine airs on Bravo Sundays at 9 p.m. ET. Stream past episodes anytime on Peacock.