Blake Lively team panicked after Kroger VP noted negative interview feedback

• Internal messages reveal corporate partners reconsidering deals with Blake Lively amid controversy.
• Kroger and Princess Cruises expressed concerns over negative public perception of the actress.
• Lively and Justin Baldoni reach eleventh-hour settlement to end long-running legal dispute.
  

Newly uncovered internal communications have revealed a state of panic among Blake Lively’s staff as major corporate partners reacted negatively to her publicised feud with Justin Baldoni.

Messages dated as early as September 2024, recently obtained by TMZ, show employees "spiralling" as they attempted to manage the fallout affecting Lively’s cocktail brand, Betty Booze.

In one correspondence, a team member detailed a worrying call with a Kroger Vice President, noting a "negative taste" left by Lively’s promotional interviews for the film It Ends With Us.

The grocery giant reportedly began "closely monitoring sales" and questioned how the actress intended to "course correct" her relationship with the audience.

Similarly, executives at Princess Cruises and the railroad company Brightline expressed hesitation, with the latter seeking to pause partnerships until the "chatter" surrounding Lively could be "turned down."

These revelations emerged just as Lively and Baldoni reached a "last-minute" settlement on Monday. The agreement effectively ends a bitter legal saga that saw the co-stars exchange accusations of harassment and smear campaigns.

In a joint statement, both parties expressed pride in the final film and a shared commitment to supporting survivors of domestic violence.

While the settlement was reached only two weeks before a scheduled trial, sources confirm that no money changed hands in the deal.

Previously, Lively had alleged that Baldoni orchestrated a retaliatory scheme to damage her reputation, while Baldoni claimed the accusations were a tactic to seize creative control. Both actors now hope the resolution allows all involved to move forward in peace.