James Vituscka's Bitter Battle with Daily Mail Over Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni Scandal

In the latest twist in the ongoing Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni drama, former showbiz reporter James Vituscka has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, The Daily Mail. According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Vituscka claims he was terminated following his involvement in the high-profile litigation. The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday, alleges whistleblower retaliation, sex and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, interference with protected rights, and wrongful termination. Vituscka is seeking damages, including lost wages, emotional-distress damages, and punitive damages. Vituscka was covering the "It Ends With Us" drama as a senior US entertainment reporter when he claims The Daily Mail tried to control his coverage. According to the lawsuit, Lively's longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, allegedly told Vituscka that Baldoni was the source of tension on the set, but never disclosed that Baldoni had sexually harassed or assaulted Lively. After Lively filed a sexual-harassment complaint against Baldoni in December 2024, Vituscka allegedly texted Baldoni's PR crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, about the apparent discrepancy. In the exchange, Vituscka accidentally used the phrase "sexually assaulted" rather than "sexually harassed," but later clarified that Sloane had never told him anything about sexual harassment. Those texts later became part of Baldoni's legal filings, thrusting Vituscka into the middle of the increasingly bitter litigation. Vituscka claims his words were selectively quoted and stripped of context, and he was subsequently subpoenaed to provide documents and testimony. The subpoena then set off a dispute with The Daily Mail over how he should respond, according to the lawsuit. He alleges that The Mail retaliated against him, changing the way his work was supervised before firing him in June 2025. In a statement to Page Six, Vituscka said, "I became a journalist to find the truth and have the courage to tell it. I spent two decades building my career and reputation through ethical reporting, integrity, and hard work, and I never imagined that refusing to compromise those principles could cost me everything I had built." The Daily Mail has denied Vituscka's allegations, stating in a statement that "at no point did Daily Mail pressure James to sign a declaration he believed to be untrue" and that the outlet expects its journalists to act with honesty and integrity. Leslie Sloane and Melissa Nathan did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.