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Justin Baldoni Faces Defamation Suit; Should You Return Gifts; Last-Minute Holiday Cocktails and Mocktails. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 25, 2024 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

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REILLY HUPPERT, TRAINEE: Hello I'm Trainee Huppert. I'm currently at U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training in Lackland, Texas. I'm from River Falls, Wisconsin. I just want to wish everyone back home and my family a Merry Christmas. I miss you guys. I can't wait to see you guys later. But just, you know, stay happy, stay positive. Think about me during the holidays and just know I'm thinking about you guys. But yes, I just wanted to say. I love you guys, miss you guys, can't wait to see you guys at graduation.

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BLAKE LIVELY, ACTRESS: We all have an idea of what love can be.

JUSTIN BALDONI, ACTOR: I want to see you again.

LIVELY: Now, you see me.

BALDONI: You know what I mean.

LIVELY: That special connection you That first kiss.

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, "It Ends with Us," star and director, you saw him there, Justin Baldoni is now facing a defamation lawsuit from his former publicist. It's the first formal lawsuit to be filed after his former co-star Blake Lively filed a separate complaint against Baldoni. In it, he -- she is accusing him of sexual harassment and a coordinated effort to try and destroy her reputation, that from Lively, in the new lawsuit.

Baldoni's former publicist, Stephanie Jones, claims that he, as well as two of his current publicists, allegedly orchestrated a smear campaign against Blake Lively. It also accuses Baldoni of breach of contract. Now, he has not responded to the latest lawsuit, but has denied all of the allegations made by Blake Lively.

Joining us now to talk much more about this, it is a twisted tale it has become, is executive editor at Deadline, Dominic Patten. Thank you so much for coming in. I mean, you have done extensive reporting on this whole situation since the beginning. How does this lawsuit now fit into the larger kind of scandal swirling around Baldoni and Blake Lively?

DOMINIC PATTEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DEADLINE: Well, first of all, Happy Christmas to you and everybody. Secondly, not a great Christmas for Justin Baldoni at this point. This is now we're going into almost a week now of allegations, of claims, of evidence. This lawsuit, which is actually as you -- the first formal lawsuit, Blake Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, which is a prelude to a lawsuit, which we all assume is going to happen, if not before the 1st of January, certainly soon afterwards.

But this lawsuit from Stephanie Jones is the first one to actually put things in the courts. Now, Stephanie Jones, as you said, is a former publicist, is the head of Jones Work, which was Baldoni's former PR company that he worked with, for a monthly retainer, by the way, of -- people will think of this quite harshly at a Christmas morning, $25,000 a month. That is what the breach of contract is about in this that was supposed to go until may next year.

The more important part is Stephanie Jones has been accused by the former publicist, and as you said, it gets so twisted here. You have been accused of leaking or providing correspondence, specifically texts, about the campaign they were doing for Baldoni to Lively and her lawyers. Stephanie Jones' lawsuit is saying, no, I didn't do that. These were subpoenaed. I provided them under the law that I was supposed to, and that is part of what this defamation suit is all about. So, it's just getting incredibly messy.

[10:35:00]

BOLDUAN: It really is. And there's been a shift in the winds, honestly, of recent. I mean, we've seen a flood of support for Blake Lively since she filed her complaint. The author of the -- Colleen Hoover, the author of the book that became the screenplay that we're talking about when it comes to this film put out a social -- put out on social media a statement to Lively saying, you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive, and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change, never will.

In addition, her co-stars from what made Blake Lively probably first famous was the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," that movie series, they released a joint statement in support of Blake Lively as well. This whole thing though has been percolating since the summer when the movie premiered and this is not how people were reacting first off I mean, why do you think people are speaking up now?

PATTEN: Well, I think two things have happened here. You're right I mean when we talk about this smear campaign, let's be clear to viewers, it seemed that Blake Lively who had a pretty impeccable reputation only unto herself, also, let's remember the spouse of course, Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds, one of the most popular and richest people in Hollywood, had a great reputation. And then, around the time the "It Ends with Us" came out in August, suddenly, all these things on social media about what a diva she is, how difficult she is, past interviews that made people cry, things that she said that were either just offensive or certainly could be seen as offensive, all this stuff a product line, I believe, a hair product she was trying to bring out, just bombed because of this.

On the other hand, Justin Baldoni seemed like he was the greatest guy in the world, a feminist ally. In fact, just received an award for it last month. An award that's now been rescinded, I might add. That was that. This lawsuit, more than anything, was pull back the veil on how PR really works in Hollywood, how PR works in politics and all aspects of American life now, which is using social media, using influencers, using the power of bad peer pressure and bad press to damn someone.

And what -- when Lively got her hands and her lawyers got her hands on these texts specifically from Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan, the two crisis PR people involved, who talked about, and with other people talked about, literally using words like destroy her. And with -- it's a process that's known as astroturfing, where you have sources come and attack someone from another battlefield, so to speak, that really, I think, put everything in context and was kind of the, like, moment for everyone, because it all made sense then.

And by it all making sense, I think a lot of people who have been silent before now came out very strongly for Blake Lively. Just last night, Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times wrote a long piece about working with Blake Lively on a documentary about sex trafficking. Now, of course, he worked with her, it was a film they made together, I really don't think he's going to have anything but a positive opinion about her. But the depth to which he spoke about her as a caring, empathetic, and smart person. And I think there's something to always remind here.

And I said this last time I was on, and I'm going to keep saying it, Deadline's going to keep saying it, this is about Justin Baldoni and Kate -- and Blake Lively. And then, there's all the PR people involved and the studios involved and stuff like that. But there's also Ryan Reynolds. Ryan Reynolds is one of the biggest stars in the world. Ryan Reynolds can market ice to polar bears. He's that good at it.

And what is happening here is it is clear that he is deeply involved in this. That he was at the pivotal meeting earlier this year where these issues were brought up. And these issues of sexual harassment on the set of that film were brought up again and again and again. This is them now being addressed. And you could be damn sure that this lawsuit from Stephanie Jones, tip of the iceberg.

BOLDUAN: Tip of the iceberg. Dominic, thank you for following it and helping make sense of what has become a swirling kind of bit of confusion around all of it, but nonetheless, important and a lot of lessons, I think, in this, no matter how this shakes out for a lot of people in Hollywood and outside of Hollywood. Great to see you. Thank you very much. We'll be right back.

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KAYLEE GUZMAN, SPECIALIST: Hi, I'm Specialist Kaylee Guzman from Allied Horses South Italian in Naples, Italy. I just want to give a shout out to all my friends and family in Charlotte, North Carolina. Te quiero mucho and I'll see you soon.

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BOLDUAN: So, a countless number of presents will be exchanged between family and friends this holiday season, but without fail there is always at least one gift that just is not right, too big, too small, or let's be honest, guys, just totally wrong all around sometimes. You just missed the mark.

So, then the question becomes, should you return it? The National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend nearly a trillion dollars on gifts this year, and about 20 percent of that will be returned. The return process can be a headache for both you and the retailer. This year, more and more companies are saying, quite simply, just keep it.

Joining us right now is retail reporter for the New York Times Jordyn Holman. It's good to see you. Thanks for coming in. Why are more retailers taking this step, like essentially foregoing the return process these days?

JORDYN HOLMAN, RETAIL REPORTER, NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, returns are so costly for retailers and it's a cost of using people to get it back in their system just to try to figure it all out. So, for some items that are just inexpensive, less than $30, some retailers are saying just keep it.

To be honest, they won't probably advertise this forthright, but when you're going through your return process, you might get a sign saying, here's your refund and you keep the product, you have to figure out where to put those ugly sweaters or heels you just don't want anymore.

BOLDUAN: And, Jordyn, the big question, and maybe in my whole household at least, is like, how long is the return window? Because right after the holidays I feel like it's forgotten and then all of a sudden, it's like, oh, you know what moment of we're like on the outside -- on the outward boundary of being able to return things. How long do shoppers usually have to return a gift? Is it getting better or worse for customers?

[10:45:00]

HOLMAN: Yes, I think we've all been there. During the holidays, retailers are definitely more lenient with the return window. So, fully understanding that people are purchasing the gifts before they give people -- give them to people weeks in advance, usually, the return windows are 30 days after you received that gift. So, keeping in mind end of January, basically. So, the clock is ticking now. If you see a retailer say we give a 60-day return window, they're probably counting the month of November and December. So, really keep in mind, the end of January. Also, you can always check with the retailer directly. And then after that time, they sometimes give store credit. If you know, you're past the window of actually giving the items back and getting your full refund.

BOLDUAN: I've been seeing some interesting reporting about retailers now utilizing A.I. to do a lot of things, but for one to kind of, I guess I would call it like fight customer returns. How does this work?

HOLMAN: Yes, yes. So, A.I. is definitely being used within the retail world to try to figure out how to tamp down on returns. One of the ways that they're doing this is having a customer trustworthiness algorithm. And basically, the easy way of thinking about that is, have you done too many returns? And retailers are looking at that data. Like, are you ordering a whole -- like 10 items and returning nine? And through that information, they're trying to figure out, OK, is -- can you make this return? Will it cost you the full price of the return? Maybe if you're really good with not returning as often, it might be a bit cheaper for you to ship that item back in.

Other ways they're using A.I. is by targeting ads to people who are least likely to return that item after they bought it. So, instead of just like wanting people to buy their items, which obviously is the game of retail, they want to make sure people actually keep them and it doesn't come back to the retailer.

BOLDUAN: So, interesting. Happy shopping and returning to everyone. It's good to see you, Jordyn. Thanks for jumping on. Merry Christmas.

HOLMAN: Thanks for having me. Thank you. Coming up for us, last- minute holiday cocktails and mocktails that are sure to be crowd pleasers.

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NORA SCOTT, TRAINEE: Hello. I'm Trainee Nora Scott. I'm currently at U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training on JBSA Lackland, Texas. I'm from Chester, New Hampshire. And I want to wish everybody back home Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate, and I can't wait to see you at graduation, guys.

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BOLDUAN: Adding into the happy everything, everyone. There is really nothing like a good cocktail or mocktail to toast the holiday season and bring in the new year. Whether you're at a party or sipping at home by the Christmas tree, a hot or cold festive beverage can be exactly the cherry on top for your holiday cheer.

So, as you are preparing, right now to do that, what are this year's go-to drinks? Joining us right now is the drinks editor for Food & Wine magazine, Prairie Rose. Thank you so much. It's great to have you here. Really appreciate that you also bring props, no less.

PRAIRIE ROSE, SENIOR DRINKS EDITOR, FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE: Yes.

BOLDUAN: The key for me, Prairie, at least -- it's me, at least, is make it delicious, but also please make it somewhat simple, because if it takes 20 minutes to make a cocktail, you know, you lost me. Tell me -- please tell me that what you've got in store for us this morning is somewhat simple.

ROSE: I'm with you. All three cocktails I have this morning are super simple. The first one that I'm going to talk about is one of my favorite festive drinks, that is the French 75. It's simply a few ingredients. It's just an ounce of gin, a half an ounce of lemon juice and a half an ounce of simple syrup. You shake that up. And I actually have some ice in my shaker here. And we're going to squeeze some lemon, a half a lemon, directly into the shaker and add some simple syrup to that. That's a half an ounce of simple syrup. And then you just shake that very swiftly. And then you top it with sparkling lime.

So, this is something that you can even pre-batch. Meaning you could make a big batch of it without the sparkling wine ahead of time, put it in your freezer and then top it off for guests with champagne or Prosecco, whatever you have, and that's it. This is probably the most complicated cocktail I have this morning.

BOLDUAN: And that's not even complicated. I love when you're talking about a pre-batch. I love a pre-batch on a cocktail for people so they can go self-serve, they don't have to -- everyone's trying to dirty up all the -- all of the equipment, if you will. I'm loving this idea. I shall try this afternoon, this evening.

OK. So, you also have a 50/50 martini is another top choice. And on this one, I feel like you had me at hello. Tell me more about this one.

ROSE: So, martini -- when you think of martinis, you think, oh, my God, it's going to be too strong, especially for a holiday cocktail. People might want to have a couple of them. 50/50 is perfect because it's equal parts vermouth and gin. We have 1.5 ounces of each. And then just a dash of orange bitters and then a twist of lemon.

I served these as an aperitif before Thanksgiving this year, huge hit. And I think it's so festive this time of year and I love a vermouth cocktail and it is clearly an aperitif cocktail, but it's also a martini. So, it feels elegant, but it's lower in alcohol. So, it's not too boozy and it hits all of those martini spots.

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BOLDUAN: Yes, it kind of hits a lot of -- it hits a lot of notes and it feels like it also would be a nice long sipping one. I think that sounds like really a nice one.

What about non-alcoholic drinks? Clearly becoming more and more popular as we -- as so many people are just choosing to forego. Honestly, when you're hitting up so many parties, you need to forego the alcohol at some point. What's the good -- what's a good non- alcoholic recipe for us?

ROSE: Yes, so Negroni's have been super popular these last few years, right? And now, we can do a non-alcoholic version because there's so many non-alcoholic products in the market right now. There's a non- alcoholic gin from Ritual. There's a few other brands that do a non- alcoholic gin. There's a beautiful bitter sort of Italian style or a liqueur that's made in kind of Campari style or apparel that's made from Martini & Rossi called the Bronti (ph). And then there's Lyre's, they're an Australian brand and they have an aperitif rosso, which is like a sweet vermouth, all non-alcoholic.

Negroni is one of the simplest cocktails to make because it's just one part, one part, one part, one ounce of each. And this is something that like even your friends or family who do drink alcohol may love it because it has that sort of bright orange, a little bittersweet characteristics that is a huge hit. And you could also top it off with a non-alcoholic bubbly if you want for something very fast.

BOLDUAN: That sounds great. That sounds great. And Negroni always, for me, is like a hot weather and cold weather kind of drink that it really can kind of straddle both of those. It's great to meet you, Prairie. Thank you so much. I hope you have a team of family behind you to now help you enjoy all the cocktails you've made for us. Thank you. Merry Christmas. Thanks so much.

ROSE: All right. Thank you. Merry Christmas.

BOLDUAN: Cheers to you. We'll have much more after a short break.

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