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Every few centuries, changes in how information moves reshape how societies govern themselves. The printing press spread vernacular literacy, helping give rise to the Reformation and, eventually, representative government. The telegraph made it possible to administer vast nations like the US, accelerating the growth of the modern bureaucratic state. Broadcast media created shared national audiences,…

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Sam Altman said using OpenClaw felt like "magic." He said he used it to build an app he had long dreamed of. Florian Gaertner/Photothek via Getty Images Sam Altman said he built a custom app with OpenClaw to manage his morning message overload. Altman said OpenClaw was one of the biggest, "This is magic AGI moments" he's experienced. He said he's since rebuilt the tool with OpenAI's own products. Sam Altman said he used to wake up to an "unpleasant task" every morning: responding to messages. So, he built a solution with AI. In a conversation with Stripe cofounder Patrick Collison, the OpenAI CEO said he used OpenClaw, an AI system designed to take actions across apps, to manage his morning communication overload by building a new app. It was the app Altman "had always wanted to work," he said. "It's like this very unpleasant task to wake up in the morning and have to go through all this stuff," he told Collison. "So I was like, 'All right, I'm finally going to be able to automate this.'" Altman didn't explain how the app works or how it responds to his litany of morning messages. He told Collison — who also described himself as an "OpenClaw evangelist" — that the agent was a turning point for him. "OpenClaw has been one of my biggest 'This is magic AGI moments' ever in the field," Altman recounted to Collison. "It's like a much more magical experience than it sounds like." OpenClaw is part of a broader shift in artificial intelligence. Unlike earlier chatbots that primarily generated text, newer agent-like systems can take actions across apps and workflows — handling tasks like sorting messages, drafting replies, and prioritizing information. The new system quickly gained attention inside OpenAI. The company hired OpenClaw's creator, Peter Steinberger, earlier this year, as it pushes deeper into so-called agentic technology. Altman said he's since rebuilt the messaging system using Codex, OpenAI's code-generation model, and is experimenting with similar tools for other tasks, including home automation. His comments come as OpenAI and its competitors race to build more capable AI systems that can plan and execute tasks on their own. Altman recently said the company's April-released flagship model, GPT-5.5, has already been used for more open-ended requests — including generating ideas for real-world events, like its own launch party. Read the original article on Business Insider

First week of Musk v. Altman, OpenAI ends Microsoft legal peril over its $50B Amazon deal, DeepSeek previews new AI model that ‘closes the gap’ with frontier models, and more!

George Etheredge for BI Strauss Zelnick avoids vice. His company makes billions selling it. The longtime CEO and chairman of Take-Two Interactive Software is the straight-laced leader behind one of the bestselling and most violent entertainment properties of all time, "Grand Theft Auto." In the gritty crime-drama series, which is set to reemerge this fall with its first new installment in 13 years, players engage in gun fights, bank heists, drug trafficking, and sex with prostitutes. Zelnick, who's in charge of ensuring "GTA VI" lives up to its world-historic hype, is a family man, philanthropist, and workout buff. He says he doesn't drink, smoke, or own a gun, and he's never gotten so much as a speeding ticket. "I train most days, sometimes twice a day," the 68-year-old tells me in a wide-ranging interview at Take-Two's Manhattan headquarters. "I'm as much into fitness as I've ever been." The head of one of the world's largest video-game makers doesn't even play video games, a point he sometimes mentions during his frequent appearances on CNBC programs like "Squawk Box" and "Closing Bell." @media (min-width: 768px) { .vertical-image-wrapper { display: flex; justify-content: center; } .vertical-image-wrapper .vertical-image { width: min(calc(80vh * var(--img-w) / var(--img-h)), 100%); min-width: 0; } } "I don't think being consumer-in-chief really helps a CEO be effective in this business," he tells me. He does watch others play. "I see the whole thing. I'm just not the one holding the controller." The stakes for "GTA VI" are among the highest for any product release this decade. Cinematic, narrative games of its size and caliber cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make, far more than most Hollywood movies, and sell for around $70 to $80 a pop. Zelnick won't say how much Take-Two has spent on "GTA VI" other than that "it was expensive." Several industry analysts told me the tab is likely in the $1 billion to $1.5 billion range. They also expect the game to surpass the current price ceiling for a Triple-A title, with one predicting it could reach three digits. The fifth edition of the GTA franchise, which has sold more than 225 million copies worldwide, surpassed $1 billion in sales within the first three days of its release in 2013. It was a record by a long shot at the time and still is today, says veteran game-industry analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities. In the years since, global consumer spending on video-game software and hardware has more than tripled to $250 billion, according to analytics firm Aldora Intelligence. But the world has also changed, raising questions about whether the GTA franchise can capture a new generation of players and lure back older fans who've drifted away. Consumers are now facing higher prices for gas, healthcare, and game consoles. Sony even raised the price of its nearly six-year-old PlayStation 5 by about $100 last month. The tension surrounding "GTA VI" isn't just economic. It's also technological. Take-Two's nearly 13,000 employees are encouraged to use AI tools such as Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini. Zelnick says AI is already taking on some low-value, time-consuming tasks, freeing staff to focus on more meaningful work. "AI will vastly increase efficiency and productivity and give us an opportunity to enhance quality," he says. Still, Zelnick is skeptical that those gains will translate into cheaper or faster-made blockbuster games. The new tools tend to fuel bigger ambitions rather than reduce production demands, he says. "Everyone understands this creates more work, not less work," he says. "When you make certain things easier, your appetite gets greater." Not every video-game player or employee has as rosy an outlook on AI as the CEO. A 2025 survey by gaming analytics firm Quantic Foundry found that 85% of players held a negative view of generative AI, especially when it's used for creative elements such as art and storytelling. Among industry professionals, more than half now say generative AI is having a negative impact on the sector, a sharp shift from just a few years ago, according to a January study jointly conducted by the GDC Festival of Gaming, research firm Omdia, and the media outlet Game Developer. "I don't think being consumer-in-chief really helps a CEO be effective in this business," says Zelnick, who watches gameplay but doesn't play video games. George Etheredge for BI Zelnick says Take-Two's employees largely don't share that skepticism, and that they haven't pushed back against AI at the company's townhall-style meetings. While the company hasn't formally polled staff, he says an employee in Europe recently asked why the technology isn't more accessible, as it wasn't initially deployed across all of Take-Two's several dozen offices worldwide. "We're a forward-thinking company," he says. "Most people think technology is a good thing in the video-game business." Investors, however, have been skittish. After Google released its AI game-making tool Genie 3 to the public in January, shares of Take-Two and several other video-game companies tumbled. In a recent research note, Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Cost wrote that Genie 3 highlights how AI tools could lower barriers to game creation "and potentially compete with current video game producers." Take-Two's stock is down roughly 11% year to date. Zelnick dismisses those concerns. "Tools that enable us to make great assets have always been available to our competitors," he says. "Why is it that we're making hits and others are not?" Zelnick also notes that players have been able to make their own version of "Grand Theft Auto" and other professionally made games for decades by engaging in what's known as modding. While some of these so-called mods draw thousands of players, they don't pose a threat to Take-Two, as it has a financial stake in that ecosystem. The company acquired one of the largest GTA modding platforms, FiveM, in 2023 for an undisclosed sum. "The way we looked at it is, wow, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who like to engage with GTA in this way," Zelnick says. "How about if instead of trying to beat them, we join them?" While the company has released "GTA V" expansion packs and fans have produced mods of the game over the years, some employees in the company's Rockstar Games studio have been working for more than a decade on "GTA VI." Amid that sprawling production cycle, Zelnick says morale has remained healthy. "It's Rockstar leadership that engages people in this extraordinary mission to create something perfect," he says. "I think people are bought into that." Delaying a game's launch is sometimes necessary, since so-called crunch — a legacy industry term for an intense, overtime-heavy push to finish a product to meet a deadline — isn't part of how Take-Two operates today, says Zelnick. "GTA VI" was originally due out in the fall of 2025, then May 2026, and now it's slated for release on November 19. "It's sort of like when I was in college. I never pulled an all-nighter because I was good about doing my homework," Zelnick says. "You do your homework, you don't pull an all-nighter." A Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School graduate, Zelnick has been entrepreneurial since he was a teenager. His first gigs included babysitting, teaching guitar, and being a birthday-party clown. He came to Take-Two in 2007 after serving as president and CEO of BMG Entertainment, and before that as CEO of video-game company Crystal Dynamics, and president and operating chief of Twentieth Century Fox. He rallied shareholders to take over Take-Two's board and rebuild the company, which at the time traded around $14 a share. He says he was drawn to it by his long-standing belief in the growth potential of interactive entertainment. Today, Take-Two trades at more than $225 a share, has a nearly $40 billion market cap, and generates around $6.5 billion in annual net bookings. @media (min-width: 768px) { .vertical-image-wrapper { display: flex; justify-content: center; } .vertical-image-wrapper .vertical-image { width: min(calc(80vh * var(--img-w) / var(--img-h)), 100%); min-width: 0; } } Zelnick, who also helms ZMC, a private-equity firm he founded in 2001, says he doesn't ever want to retire. He has no plans, though, to take part in the longevity drug trend that some of his tech-industry peers have embraced in recent years. "I pay a lot of attention to it because I find it interesting, but I'm really allergic to bro science," he says. "I'm really allergic to putting things into your body that are not double-blind tested, proven safe and effective, and approved by the FDA." Even with Take-Two's record of hit franchises beyond "Grand Theft Auto" — including "NBA2K," "Red Dead Redemption," and "Borderlands" for consoles and PCs, and mobile games like "Words With Friends" and "Monster Legends" — Zelnick doesn't take past wins for granted. The focus, he says, is always forward. "Arrogance is the enemy of continued success." Sarah E. Needleman is Business Insider's leadership & workplace correspondent. Read the original article on Business Insider

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The Trump administration is considering oversight of AI models, the New York Times reported on Monday. SBA via Getty Images The Trump administration is discussing oversight of new AI models, per the New York Times. Tech policy experts say such oversight could slow innovation. They added that such regulation should come from legislation, not an executive order. President Donald Trump's administration is discussing government oversight of the rollout of new AI models, the New York Times reported on Monday. The administration is considering an executive order to create a working group of tech executives and public officials to decide how oversight would be carried out, the Times reported, citing US officials and people familiar with the discussions. The report said that White House officials told executives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI about some of these plans. The oversight would mark a U-turn from Trump's stance on AI,. In his second term, the president has prioritized deregulation and innovation, saying that a tight hold could hamper American competitiveness against China. The move comes as policymakers face pressure from national security officials and tech analysts to consider the risks posed by powerful AI systems, such as Anthropic's Mythos. Here is what tech and policy experts are saying about the potential regulation: Daniel Castro, president at Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Daniel Castro ITIF Daniel Castro, the president of science and tech think tank ITIF, listed several reasons the potential executive order is a "terrible idea" on X. First, he said it is a "full embrace" of the precautionary principle — the idea that governments need to protect the public from risks even without full scientific certainty. "It would mean firms need government permission to innovate. That flips the default from building freely to asking first," Castro wrote on X. He said that other risks include tech companies having to bend to each administration, allowing other countries to continue advancing, and slowing innovation. "Innovation would move at the speed of Washington, not Silicon Valley," he wrote. "Every product launch, feature update, or model release would slow down. Government is not known for speed." Janet Vestal Kelly, CEO of Alliance for a Better Future Janet Vestal Kelly, who heads the Alliance for a Better Future, a conservative-leaning advocacy group, called the potential vetting of AI models "welcome news." "AI is the most powerful technology the world has ever seen, and left to their own devices, Big Tech companies will run roughshod over kids, workers, and American values," she wrote in a statement shared on X on Monday. "With the right approach, the US can have AI that protects kids, jobs and our nation, and also win the AI race against China," Kelly added. Adam Thierer, analyst at R Street Institute Adam Thierer, an innovation policy analyst at free-market think tank R Street Institute, said that big AI regulation should not be Trump's decision alone. "Any sort of preemptive, pre-release 'vetting' of AI models by the White House could be tantamount to a de facto licensing regime, which should certainly not be done via executive orders," he wrote on X. Thierer, who testified about frontier models in Congress, said that one of Trump's first priorities in his second term was to get rid of a Biden-era AI order. "Executive orders have their place, but Congress needs to help establish a more stable framework that achieves these goals," he wrote. Conor Grennan, CEO of AI Mindset Conor Grennan Clint Spaulding/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Conor Grennan, an AI consultant and former chief AI architect at NYU's Stern School of Business, raised concerns about this "vetting" process. "Who gets the blame if something goes wrong- AI or the vetters? Or what if an AI leader criticizes Trump, is that model suddenly "too dangerous?" And how does this vetting happen, exactly?" he wrote in a post on LinkedIn. He said that while guardrails are necessary, the government making these decisions "is going to get messy fast." Eli Dourado, head of strategic investments at Astera Institute Eli Dourado, who leads strategic investments at Astera, a nonprofit AI research institute, said that the proposal could mean many different things. "If it's a mandatory review of AI models before they can be released, that's in direct conflict with the courts' First Amendment prior-restraint doctrine," he wrote, referring to a constitutional law that says that the government cannot stop speech before it happens. He added: "Seems unlikely to fly." Taylor Barkley, director of federal government affairs at Abundance Institute Taylor Barkley, a director at tech policy organization Abundance Institute, said the potential regulation is a pre-approval process similar to the UK's. He called it a "giant step backwards for innovation and an undoing of President Trump's excellent policy on AI so far" because it would slow implementation and raise barriers to entry. He said it also gives regulators more power than innovators and undermines the administration's goal of cutting red tape. "For all these reasons and more, Congress needs to clarify proper regulatory measures by passing a national AI framework," Barkley wrote on X. Chris McGuire, senior fellow at Council on Foreign Relations Chris McGuire, a senior fellow for China and emerging tech at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the move would be a "sorely needed regulatory pivot." In a post on X, he wrote that if the US government wants to vet models pre-release, it also needs a plan to preserve security when they're live. "This means putting in place certain cyber and physical security requirements that apply to frontier AI labs and any cloud providers that host advanced AI models," McGuire wrote. "It also means export controlling advanced AI model weights, to prevent them from being transferred to untrusted entities." He added that the Biden Administration had a similar AI policy. "The rule was complex and by no means perfect, but it was an honest attempt to get at a real problem the Trump administration now needs its own answer to," he wrote. Thomas Woodside, senior policy advisor at Secure AI Project Thomas Woodside, a cofounder and advisor at AI policy group Secure AI Project, said that a one-time approval process for AI models may not be the right approach. Instead, he argued oversight should be continuous, since systems are frequently updated and can pose risks even during development and internal use. Like other tech analysts, Woodside said any such framework should be established through legislation rather than executive action. Read the original article on Business Insider

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Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said startups make one mistake during tech hype cycles. Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunch Waymo CEO Dmitri Dolgov said tech breakthroughs spark hype cycles where startups rush in but don't last. He said that to survive beyond one hype cycle, startups should work on addressing complex edge cases. Waymo started in 2009 and now provides robotaxi services in several major metropolitan areas in the US. Waymo's CEO said early-stage startups often make one big mistake that trips them up. In a Sequoia Capital podcast released Friday, co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov said startups tend to get excited by new technological breakthroughs but focus on quick solutions rather than addressing the complex edge cases needed to make systems truly reliable. Speaking in the context of the autonomous vehicles industry, he said it is very easy to get started but "very difficult to take it all the way to a real product, full autonomy, and superhuman performance." He said big breakthroughs like large language models fuel hype cycles, drawing in a wave of startups that don't last. Dolgov said these breakthroughs change the "early part of the curve," and not the "long tail." A Waymo spokesperson told Business Insider that the "long tail" for autonomous vehicles refers to edge cases — rare driving situations that occur once every million miles that the self-driving system must safely navigate. "Today, worldwide, somebody loses their life in a crash on our roads every 26 seconds," Dolgov said in the podcast. "It's the combination of knowing that the mission is really important and understanding what you're up against — not looking for easy wins or quick solutions or silver bullets — that helps the team have the stamina to go the distance." Waymo was founded by Google in 2009 as a self-driving technology company. It launched its first autonomous vehicles in Phoenix in 2020, and is now available in several US cities, including San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Miami, and Nashville. The company's robotaxis are all electric and use AI, mapping technology, and sensors to drive autonomously. Waymo is one of the few autonomous-vehicle companies to offer robotaxi services in the US, alongside Tesla and Uber. Before joining Waymo in 2009, Dolgov worked on self-driving car technology at Toyota and at Stanford. He shares Waymo's CEO title with Tekedra Mawakana. Read the original article on Business Insider

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni star in "It Ends With Us," which Baldoni also directed. Lia Toby/Getty Images, James Devaney/Getty Images Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against her "It Ends With Us" costar Baldoni and accused him of a smear campaign. A judge officially ended Baldoni's lawsuit against The New York Times, Lively, her rep, and Ryan Reynolds in November 2025. Lively's lawsuit was set for a May 18 trial after a judge dismissed most of her claims, but the two sides have now settled the case. Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have reached a settlement, bringing their "It Ends With Us" legal feud to an end. The film's press tour in the summer of 2024 was overshadowed by rumors and speculation of a feud between lead star Lively and Baldoni, her costar and director. While the movie survived the backlash and went on to become one of the summer's biggest hits at the box office, grossing $350 million worldwide, the "It Ends with Us" drama didn't end there. In December 2024, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, setting off a cascade of lawsuits involving both actors and even tangential figures like Baldoni's former publicist, Stephanie Jones. In June 2025, a judge threw out Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit. He was allowed to file an amended complaint, but in November, the judge formally ended the suit after the deadline for Baldoni to do so had passed. Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni was headed to a May 18 trial, though a judge dismissed 10 of her 13 claims. The two sides reached a settlement in early May, just weeks before trial. Here's everything we know about their feud and legal battle. Eve Crosbie and Ayomikun Adekaiyero contributed to previous versions of this post. Baldoni didn't interact with other cast members at press events, sparking feud rumors. Blake Lively with Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Tammy Reynolds, and Brandon Sklenar at the New York premiere of "It Ends With Us." John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images Fans suspected something was amiss when Baldoni and Lively didn't interact during the press tour despite playing partners in the film. Lively did press events with costars Brandon Sklenar and Isabela Ferrer, and author Colleen Hoover, who wrote the book the film is based on. Baldoni did most of his press solo. When they both attended the New York premiere in August 2024, they were not photographed together. Lively posed with her castmates, Hoover, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and Hugh Jackman, his "Deadpool & Wolverine" costar. Baldoni was photographed with his wife and some of the other producers who worked on the film. While speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the carpet at the New York premiere, Baldoni explained why he was stepping back from the limelight. "This isn't my night — this is a night for all the women who we made this movie for," he said." This is a night for Blake, this is a night for Colleen. I'm just so grateful that we're here, five years in the making." On social media, fans theorized about the potential drama between the two. The speculation intensified a few days later after a user on the r/ColleenHoover subreddit noted that Lively and Hoover did not follow Baldoni on Instagram. Fans also noticed that the film's other stars, including Sklenar, Ferrer, and Jenny Slate, did not follow Baldoni. Baldoni followed all of them except Hoover. Justin Baldoni and Colleen Hoover appeared to be on good terms during the movie's production in 2023. Jojo Whilden/Sony Pictures Ent. Business Insider could not verify whether they previously followed Baldoni. Adding to this theory was a clip of Slate seemingly sidestepping a question about Baldoni at the movie's New York premiere. Asked about having Baldoni as both a scene partner and a director, she responded by not mentioning him and instead speaking about how "intense" it must be to do both jobs. i just found out about the whole 'it ends with us' cast drama and omg they asked her what it was like to work with justin and she completely ignored the question 💀 pic.twitter.com/2DdlmvxS4x — leah doesn't do cocaine (@camis_unicorn) August 7, 2024 As speculation increased, fans turned on Lively. Blake Lively at the New York premiere of "It Ends With Us." Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images Many fans began blaming Lively for the supposed feud, accusing her of trying to take over the film. This theory was supported by Baldoni and Lively's interviews in the lead-up to the premiere. On August 9, 2024, Baldoni told Today that Lively and Reynolds, who was not a producer on the film, contributed significantly to it. "You can't summarize Blake's contribution in a sentence, because her energy and imprint is all over the movie and really, really made the film better, and from beginning to end," Baldoni said. Baldoni also said he struggled to balance allowing collaboration and having his voice drowned out entirely. "You don't have to listen to everybody, and that didn't happen all the time, but there were just moments where I would get out of the way too much," he said. Baldoni said Lively should take over as director to adapt the sequel to the "It Ends With Us" novel, "It Starts with Us." Meanwhile, Lively told E! News on August 7, 2024 that Reynolds helped pen the opening scene of "It Ends With Us." The film's screenwriter Christy Hal told People a day later that she wasn't aware that Reynolds had written some of the dialogue used in the final version of the script. "When I saw a cut, I was like, 'Oh, that's cute. That must have been a cute improvised thing,'" Hall said. "So if I'm being told that Ryan wrote that, then great, how wonderful." Fans also criticized how Lively promoted the movie, choosing to focus on its lighthearted and romantic elements instead of its heavy domestic abuse plot. Baldoni was the only cast member who consistently spoke about the domestic abuse element. A clip of Lively making an off-color remark to a reporter in a 2016 interview resurfaced amid the 'It Ends With Us' drama. As online sentiment toward Lively turned increasingly negative, journalist Kjersti Flaa released an archival clip of an interview with Blake Lively on August 10, 2024 titled "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job." "It actually took me a while to get over the experience," Flaa told Business Insider in an email on August 19, 2024 of the interview, which took place years earlier. "Every time I entered a room after this I got nervous that something similar might happen again," she wrote. Lively's costar made a statement asking people to stop focusing on 'what may or may not have happened.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Brandon Sklenar (@brandonsklenar) Sklenar, who plays Lively's other love interest in "It Ends With Us," spoke out about the backlash in an Instagram post on August 20, 2024. "Colleen and the women of this cast stand for hope, perseverance, and for women choosing a better life for themselves. Vilifying the women who put so much of their heart and soul into making this film because they believe so strongly in its message seems counterproductive and detracts from what this film is about," he said. "This film is meant to inspire. It's meant to validate and recognize," Sklenar added. "It is not meant to once again, make women the 'bad guy,' let's move beyond that together." Representatives for Baldoni, Lively, Reynolds, Hoover, and Sklenar did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. Months later, Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and a smear campaign against her. Blake Lively at the 2024 Beauty Inc Awards. Katie Jones / Beauty Inc via Getty Images On December 20, 2024, Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, inflicting "emotional distress," and conspiring to damage her public reputation. Lively's complaint also named Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni's production company, and Jamey Heath, the company's CEO, as two of the 11 defendants. In the complaint, Lively said an all-hands meeting about Baldoni and Heath's behavior on set was held in January 2023. She accused him of showing her nude videos and images of women, improvising kissing scenes or intimate scenes, and entering her trailer while she was naked. Lively said Heath and Baldoni responded by hiring Melissa Nathan, a crisis PR representative, and Jed Wallace, a Texas-based contractor, both defendants in the complaint, to orchestrate a "multi-tiered" plan to "destroy" her public reputation and stop her or anyone else from speaking out about what happened on set. She also said that the cast agreed to a marketing plan created by the film's distributor, Sony Pictures Entertainment, to avoid talking about the sad parts of the movie, which Baldoni broke away from. "What the public did not know was that Mr. Baldoni and his team did so to explain why many of the Film's cast and crew had unfollowed Mr. Baldoni on social media and were not appearing with him in public," the complaint said. Baldoni's attorney said Lively blamed Baldoni in hopes of improving her reputation. Justin Baldoni in August 2024. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, told Business Insider in a statement after the complaint was filed: "It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions." Freedman said Nathan was hired because Lively made multiple demands and threatened not to show up to set or promote the film if they were not met. When asked to respond to Freedman, a representative for Lively referred Business Insider to a statement shared with The New York Times on December 21, 2024: "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." On December 24, 2024, publicist Stephanie Jones sued Baldoni, his film studio, Melissa Nathan, and Jennifer Abel, a former employee of Jones' PR company, for breach of contract and defamation. In the suit, Jones alleged Baldoni and the PRs orchestrated a smear campaign against Lively while her company was working with Baldoni. Jones said this was done behind her back until August 2024, when Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios stopped working with the company and worked directly with Abel. In the following days, Hoover and other stars reacted to the lawsuit. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amber Tamblyn (@amberrosetamblyn) Lively's costars from 2005's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" — America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel — shared a joint statement supporting Lively after she made the complaint. Hoover and Sklenar, who worked on "It Ends With Us," seemed to both throw their support behind Lively by sharing links to her allegations on their Instagram stories. "@blakelively, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met," Hoover wrote in her story post. "Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt." Hoover has since deleted her Instagram, TikTok, and Threads account. Representatives for Hoover did not immediately respond to a comment request from Business Insider. Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency. Justin Baldoni's Voices of Solidarity Award has been rescinded. Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership On December 21, 2024, The New York Times reported that Ari Emanuel, chief executive of the parent company that owns Baldoni's talent agency, William Morris Endeavor, said the agency had stopped representing him. On December 9, 2024, before the complaint was released, Vital Voices, a nonprofit organization that supports women leaders, awarded Baldoni the Voices of Solidarity Award to honor his advocacy work for women. On December 23, 2024, Vital Voices said in a statement on their website that they had rescinded the award. "The communications among Mr. Baldoni and his publicists included in the lawsuit — and the PR effort they indicate — are, alone, contrary to the values of Vital Voices and the spirit of the Award," the statement read. Baldoni filed a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. Baldoni and others filed a defamation lawsuit against The New York Times. Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty Images Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and others mentioned in a New York Times story that detailed Lively's accusations against Baldoni filed a lawsuit against the newspaper on December 31, 2024. The lawsuit, obtained by Business Insider, said the Times' story published on December 21, 2024 "relied almost entirely on Lively's unverified and self-serving narrative" and accused the publication of "disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives." The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, contained screenshots of messages that it said contradicted the Times' reporting. In a statement provided to Business Insider after the lawsuit was filed, a Times spokesperson said the newspaper stood by its reporting and would "vigorously defend against the lawsuit." "Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article," the statement said. The outlet also published its full statement responding to the allegations. In a statement provided to Business Insider after Baldoni's lawsuit was filed, Freedman, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said Lively had orchestrated a "vicious smear campaign" and that the Times "cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites." Freedman also said that they would also sue other individuals "who have abused their power to try and destroy the lives of my clients." In a statement provided to Business Insider about Baldoni's suit, Lively's lawyers said: "Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively's California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint." Lively filed her own lawsuit in New York. ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images The same day Baldoni filed his lawsuit against the Times, Lively filed a lawsuit against him, Wayfarer, and others in New York federal court. Representatives for Lively said the lawsuit, which was obtained by Business Insider, was based on the legal complaint Lively previously filed with the California Civil Rights Department. The lawsuit accuses Baldoni and his PR team of engaging in a campaign to retaliate against her for speaking out about sexual misconduct. "Unfortunately, Ms. Lively's decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks," her lawyers said in a statement provided to Business Insider. "As alleged in Ms. Lively's federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns." Representatives for Baldoni and Wayfarer did not address the lawsuit filed by Lively when reached by Business Insider. Baldoni's lawyer accused Reynolds of teasing the actor with a 'Deadpool & Wolverine' character. Ryan Reynolds plays Nicepool in "Deadpool & Wolverine." Marvel Studios In January 2025, Freedman told SiriusXM's "The Megyn Kelly Show" that his team planned to take further legal action. Freedman also alleged Reynolds used his influence to help Lively take over "It Ends With Us" and to mock Baldoni on "Deadpool and Wolverine," via a new character in the film called Nicepool. In the film, which premiered in July 2024 and was the second-highest-grossing movie of 2024, Nicepool, a version of Deadpool from an alternate dimension whose face has not been disfigured, jokes about a woman's pregnancy weight, claims to be a feminist and wears a man bun. Freedman alleged this was based on Baldoni, who has a reputation for being a feminist and has been known to wear his hair in a bun in the past. In the movie, Nicepool is eventually killed by Ladypool, a female version of Deadpool from an alternate dimension played by Lively. "What I make of that is that if your wife is sexually harassed, you don't make fun of Justin Baldoni," Freedman said. "You don't make fun of the situation. You take it very seriously. You file HR complaints. You raise the issue and you follow a legal process. What you don't do is mock the person and turn it into a joke." Baldoni's company Wayfarer sued Lively, her publicist, and Reynolds. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds at the "It Ends With Us" New York premiere. Cindy Ord/Getty Images On January 16, 2025, Baldoni, his associates at his company Wayfarer Studios, and his publicists Nathan and Abel sued Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alleging they orchestrated a smear campaign against him. Baldoni's lawsuit, which sought $400 million in damages, alleged that Lively, with the help of Reynolds and Sloane, hijacked "It Ends with Us" by wresting creative control away from Baldoni, then worked to destroy his reputation and livelihood. The suit, which contained many of the same details as Baldoni's defamation suit against the Times, claimed that Reynolds pressured the talent agency WME — which also represents Lively and Reynolds — to drop Baldoni. The agency did so but a WME spokesperson previously denied Reynolds and Lively put pressure on the agency. Freedman told Business Insider that their suit was "based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team's duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni." "Justin and his team have nothing to hide," the statement adds, "documents do not lie." Lively's legal team said Baldoni's team's suit is another attempt to "shift the narrative" from one about harassment claims to one around battles for creative control. "This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook," Lively's legal team said. "This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim." Baldoni's team released behind-the-scenes footage from the "It Ends With Us" set. Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid and Blake Lively as Lily Bloom in "It Ends With Us." Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures Entertainment In Lively's complaint, Lively said Baldoni acted as himself instead of Ryle while filming a slow-dance sequence for the romance film. "At one point, he leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, 'it smells so good,'" the complaint read. "None of this was remotely done in character, or based on any dialogue in the script, and nothing needed to be said because, again, there was no sound." Her team alleged Lively later objected to this behavior and said Baldoni replied, "I'm not even attracted to you." In January 2025, Baldoni's production company and lawyer hit back by sending a nearly 10-minute behind-the-scenes footage of the cast filming the scene to outlets including the Daily Mail. Baldoni's team said in a statement at the beginning of the video that the footage contains three takes filmed on May 23, 2023, and said these were the only versions filmed of the scene. "Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism," they added. The video also showed that the initial direction in the "It Ends With Us" script is that Baldoni and Lively's characters just dance together. In the takes, Baldoni repeatedly moves in to kiss Lively, and Lively pulls away and says it would be better if they talked during the scene. At one point, Baldoni rubs his face on both sides of Lively's neck seemingly without warning, but the pair joke about it in the video. The video has elicited a range of responses on social media. Some users thought Lively looked uncomfortable, while others believed Lively was attracted to her costar. Lively's attorneys sent a statement to The Hollywood Reporter after the video was published, saying that the footage corroborated Lively's story because "every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni with no discussion or consent in advance, and no intimacy coordinator present." "The video shows Ms. Lively leaning away and repeatedly asking for the characters to just talk. Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively's discomfort," the statement said. "They will recognize her attempts at levity to try to deflect the unwanted touching. No woman should have to take defensive measures to avoid being touched by their employer without their consent." Lively's attorneys also said that Baldoni's choice to release the video to the media instead of presenting it to court was an "unethical attempt to manipulate the public" and a "continuation of their harassment and retaliatory campaign." "While they are focused on misleading media narratives, we are focused on the legal process," her attorneys said. Freedman responded in a statement sent to Business Insider via email on Wednesday: "Prior to filing her lawsuit in court, Ms. Lively went to The New York Times in an effort to publicly destroy Justin Baldoni. When Mr. Baldoni exercises his right to publicly defend himself by putting forth actual facts and evidence, for Ms Lively and team this instantly becomes morally and ethically wrong." The statement continued: "Ms. Lively wants very different standards to apply to her but fortunately, truth and authenticity apply to everyone and can never be wrong. Looking at the video and the evidence to come, I can understand why Ms. Lively would now, not want this to play out in public." Baldoni's lawyers created a website containing his complaint and a timeline of events. https://thelawsuitinfo.com In February 2025, Baldoni's lawyers launched a website containing two documents related to his legal battle with Lively. The first is an amended version of Baldoni's $400 million counter-lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds. In the amended complaint, Baldoni's team claims that the metadata on The New York Times' website shows that the publication had access to Lively's civil rights complaint at least 11 days before publishing its report on Baldoni's alleged smear campaign, titled "'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine." Another update in the lawsuit took aim at Lively's husband and accused him of using the character of Nicepool in "Deadpool & Wolverine" to bully Baldoni, saying that the "caricature of a 'woke' feminist" was a "transparent and mocking portrayal of Reynolds' warped perception of Baldoni." The second document on the new site is a 168-page "timeline of relevant events" related to the feud and the movie's production. The timeline dates from January 2019, when Baldoni approached Hoover about adapting her novel, to January 2025. In a statement to CNN, Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman said: "The decision to amend our lawsuit was a logical next step due to the overwhelming amount of new proof that has come to light." Variety reported that the Times has disputed "inaccuracies" in Baldoni's complaint. A judge threw out Baldoni's defamation lawsuit. Justin Baldoni at the world premiere of "It Ends With Us" at AMC Lincoln Square on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, in New York. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Last June, US District Judge Lewis Liman dismissed Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit, in which the actor and director accused Lively of taking creative control of "It Ends with Us" and damaging his reputation. The suit also alleged that Lively had falsely accused Baldoni of sexual harassment as a way to take control of the production. The countersuit had previously been combined with a separate suit Baldoni had filed against The New York Times and Lively's publicist Leslie Sloane, which accused Sloane of planting rumors to smear Baldoni in the press and the Times of facilitating their circulation. Judge Liman ruled that Lively's claims of sexual harassment were legally protected and immune from a lawsuit. Liman is still weighing whether to dismiss Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni. Baldoni's defamation lawsuit was officially dismissed after deadline lapse. Justin Baldoni. Cindy Ord/Getty Images On October 31, 2025, Judge Liman officially ended Baldoni's lawsuit against Lively. Liman stated in his order that he contacted all parties on October 17 that his final judgment to conclude the case was coming soon. Only Lively responded. With Baldoni's side missing the deadline to continue to claim, the judge dismissed the lawsuit. Lively's original lawsuit against Baldoni is still ongoing. A court date was set for May 18. Unsealed court docs reveal Taylor Swift called Baldoni a "bitch" in texts to Lively. Blake Lively and Taylor Swift are seen in 2023 in New York City. Gotham/GC Images On January 20, following Judge Liman's ruling that both parties release evidence before a hearing to dismiss the May trial, Lively's team released documents, including depositions and text messages. They included text exchanges between Lively and her friend Taylor Swift. In one, Swift referred to Baldoni as a "bitch," writing to Lively before The New York Times story ran, "I think this bitch knows something is coming because he's gotten out his tiny violin." A year prior to that text, Lively referred to Baldoni as the "doofus director of my movie" in a text to Swift. The deposition of Lively's "It Ends With Us" costar Jenny Slate was also among the unsealed documents. In it, she describes an alleged incident on set where Baldoni said to her, "I can say this because my wife is here, but you look sexy in what you're wearing." Slate said the comment was "not appropriate" on set or in "any workplace." "The comment was about me, not my character. It wasn't useful for my work. It wasn't anything I wanted. It was unwanted and had no place, in my professional experience," Slate said in her deposition. Texts by Slate were also released. In one, she described Baldoni as "a fraud." In another message, she called him "the biggest clown and the most intense narcissist." Baldoni's team has yet to release its evidence. Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, told Business Insider in a statement that "the evidence does not support the claims as a matter of law" and pointed to messages from Sony discussing Lively's behavior. "A simple read of the newly released message exchanges makes the truth abundantly clear. We remain confident in the legal process and clearing the names of all of the Justin Baldoni parties." Reps for Lively, Swift, and Slate did not respond to requests for comment. Baldoni and Lively were in separate rooms during settlement talks. Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in New York City for settlement talks. Getty February 12 marked the first day of settlement talks in hopes of resolving the feud before the May 18 trial date. Baldoni and Lively never saw one another, as they were in separate but adjacent courtrooms in the Manhattan courthouse. Meanwhile, their lawyers tried to work out a possible deal with a magistrate judge. Nothing was resolved on the first day. A judge dismissed most of Lively's claims. Most of Lively's claims were tossed out by a federal judge on April 2. Carl Recine/Getty Images On April 2, federal judge Lewis Liman dismissed most of Lively's claims in the harassment lawsuit against Baldoni. Liman tossed out 10 of 13 allegations in her case, including harassment and defamation. Three claims were left in place against Baldoni: breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation. The case will go to a civil trial in New York on May 18. Lively and Baldoni settle lawsuit weeks before trial — as she returns to the spotlight Lively at the Met Gala in New York City on May 4. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue On May 4, Lively and Baldoni's production company, Wayfarer Studios, announced that the two actors had reached a settlement, two weeks before their trial was set to begin. "Raising awareness, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of domestic violence survivors — and all survivors — is a goal that we stand behind," the studio said in a statement. "We acknowledge the process presented challenges and recognize concerns raised by Ms. Lively deserved to be heard." The statement added: "It is our sincere hope that this brings closure and allows all involved to move forward constructively and in peace, including a respectful environment online." The terms of the settlement weren't disclosed. Just hours after the announcement, Lively appeared at the Met Gala — her first since 2022 — signaling a return to public life and a close to the yearslong controversy surrounding "It Ends With Us." Read the original article on Business Insider

The House on Mosfilmovskaya complex, or Mosfilm tower, is located in one of Moscow's upscale neighborhoods. Sergei Karpukhin/REUTERS An upscale residential tower near Moscow's city center was hit by a drone on Monday. It's one of Ukraine's deepest strikes into Moscow, which is preparing for its Victory Day parade. Ukraine often launches such strikes to undermine the parade, which won't be displaying equipment this year. A Ukrainian drone hit a luxury high-rise tower in Moscow on Monday, a rare attack near the heart of the Russian capital just days before this year's Victory Day parade. Multiple videos posted on Russian Telegram news channels appear to show debris strewn across a main road near the Mosfilm tower, a two-building residential complex about 4 miles from Moscow's city center. Business Insider was unable to determine when these videos and photos were taken, but they are consistent with street markings and the city layout near the Mosfilm tower. Another clip showed emergency vehicles and halted road traffic at a junction next to the complex. The taller of the two buildings appears to have been the target, with photos showing visible damage to one of the 54-floor tower's upper levels. Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, confirmed an attack on Monday evening, saying that a drone had struck a building on Mosfilmovskaya Street. Sobyanin said that there were no injuries. Monday's attack on the Mosfilm tower is one of Ukraine's deepest drone hits in the heavily defended Russian capital. The skyscraper is located in one of Moscow's most affluent neighborhoods, with major foreign embassies down the road and a nearby city-center golf range. The strike also comes five days before Russia is set to hold its annual parade celebrating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II. Over the last few years, Ukraine has harassed Moscow with attempted drone attacks in the lead-up to the parade, which is one of the grandest displays of Russia's military might. As Moscow prepared last year to host dozens of world leaders for one of its highest-profile editions of the parade, Kyiv repeatedly disrupted local airports by launching waves of drone attacks. This year, the Kremlin said it would hold a scaled-down version of the parade, with no displays of significant military equipment due to the war situation and the threat of Ukrainian attack. "This is telling," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday while attending a summit in Armenia. "It shows they are not strong now." Zelenskyy hinted at further drone threats on Moscow this month, saying that Russian officials "fear drones may buzz over Red Square" during the parade. The Russian defense ministry said that it had shot down at least 117 Ukrainian drones bound for the capital on Sunday night. With Moscow about 275 miles from the nearest Ukrainian border, Kyiv often uses fixed-wing drones to attack the capital. Read the original article on Business Insider

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