A former Daily Mail reporter is suing the news organization, alleging whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, and wrongful termination stemming from his involvement in the legal dispute between actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.
James Vituscka, a senior US entertainment reporter at the time, claims in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that the Daily Mail pressured him to sign a declaration he was uncomfortable with and retaliated against him after his communications became part of the Lively-Baldoni litigation. The outlet is categorically denying the allegations.
Vituscka's suit, filed Monday, states that he was named in the high-profile litigation after discussing the "It Ends With Us" fallout with representatives for both Lively and Baldoni. According to court documents obtained by Page Six, Lively's publicist, Leslie Sloane, allegedly informed Vituscka in August 2024 that Baldoni was the source of tension on set, but did not mention any allegations of sexual harassment or assault.
Following Lively's December 2024 sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, Vituscka alleges he texted Baldoni's PR crisis manager, Melissa Nathan, about a perceived discrepancy. While Vituscka admits to inadvertently using the phrase "sexually assaulted" instead of "sexually harassed" in a text, he asserts he later clarified that Sloane had not provided information about sexual harassment. These texts later became part of Baldoni's legal filings.
Vituscka claims his words were selectively quoted and stripped of context, leading to a subpoena for documents and testimony. He alleges that the Daily Mail then disputed how he should respond to the subpoena, ultimately retaliating against him by altering his work supervision before his termination in June 2025.
The lawsuit seeks damages, including lost wages, emotional distress, and punitive damages. Vituscka stated that he became a journalist to "find the truth and have the courage to tell it" and that refusing to compromise his principles "could cost me everything I had built."
The Daily Mail, in a statement, blasted the lawsuit as "an inaccurate account of the circumstances surrounding the declaration he signed." The outlet stated that the declaration was consistent with what Vituscka had told senior management previously and that "claims that he is a 'whistleblower' who suffered 'retaliation,' 'harassment,' 'discrimination' or other unlawful treatment are entirely meritless and unsupported by the facts."
Lively and Baldoni settled their legal battle out of court in May 2026.