The Blake Lively backlash has been 'a gift' for Justin Baldoni after he was forced to hire a PR-crisis manager amid rumored 'It Ends With Us' feud, PR expert says

• Justin Baldoni has hired a PR-crisis team amid the drama surrounding "It Ends With Us."
• The rumored feud between the actor and his costar, Blake Lively, has made headlines in recent weeks.
• The public backlash against Lively has been "a gift" for Baldoni, one PR expert told BI.

" It Ends With Us ," the new movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, has quickly become a box-office hit, surpassing $200 million globally since its release earlier this month.

A few factors have contributed to the film's success , but the rumored off-screen feud between Lively and Baldoni, her costar and director, probably hasn't hurt.

The reported falling out has made headlines in recent weeks and led to a reexamination of Lively's past , with many criticizing the star's previous behavior.

But while Lively is trying to save her reputation , Baldoni has been navigating the changing tides of public opinion with a move from the celebrity-scandal playbook: hiring a public-relations-crisis team .

The actor and director, who rose to fame starring in The CW's "Jane the Virgin," has sought the help of Melissa Nathan, a veteran PR manager, The Hollywood Reporter said.

"This was the right move for him," Megan Balyk, a PR expert and the vice president of Jive PR + Digital, told Business Insider. "We always recommend hiring a reputation-management firm before you need it."

"I think this shows us that Justin doesn't trust Blake and believes she will try to control the narrative. He's trying to ensure this outcome doesn't negatively impact his career," Balyk added.

Eric Schiffer, the chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, said one of the first things Baldoni likely would've done with his new crisis team was lay out "what truly went down behind the scenes."

After fans noticed that the pair weren't interacting during the film's promotional tour this month, social-media sleuths started digging into what might be behind that and came up with a variety of wild theories.

TMZ and Page Six have since reported on tension on the movie's set, while unnamed sources told The Hollywood Reporter that more problems occurred in postproduction, where two different cuts of the movie emerged.

Schiffer said Baldoni would need to fill in the gaps to his PR team, confirming or denying the reported rumors so they have the full picture.

"Once you have that, you can formulate a battle plan," he said. "A big part of this is ensuring you don't detonate problems that can explode."

"But if things are favorable, it can benefit the client to 'leak' the truth if it's not already out there," Schiffer added.

Some speculated that the journalist Kjersti Flaa may have been part of a smear campaign against Lively after Flaa uploaded a 2016 interview to YouTube with the actor, titling it: "The Blake Lively interview that made me want to quit my job."

The viral interview showed Lively acting hostile toward the reporter after she congratulated the star on her pregnancy .

Flaa told the Daily Mail that she shared the footage because "it's time that people behaving badly in Hollywood, or anywhere else for that matter, gets called out for it. It's not OK, even if you are rich and famous."

Schiffer said that Baldoni has "been given a gift because of the distracting components that have arisen" concerning the "Gossip Girl" star .

"The last thing Justin's going to want to do is redirect that attention back onto him," he said.

"The rule is if the other side is destroying themselves because of bad choices, you don't change the subject. You allow that to play out," he added.

Balyk said Baldoni's actions have already helped him come across as someone down-to-earth with the best interests of those who might relate to the movie in mind.

Recent social-media posts showed Baldoni with his family , talking about what inspired him to get into acting and surprising fans at screenings in the US.

Meanwhile, he has spoken graciously about Lively in interviews and shifted the attention to " all the women who we made this movie for ."

Many have pointed out that Baldoni's crisis team represented Johnny Depp during his high-profile court battle against Amber Heard . However, Balyk said that likely had more to do with Baldoni needing a heavyweight fighting his corner, given that Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds , no doubt have an "equally strong PR team that is likely on standby."

"While Melissa Nathan has handled controversial cases like Johnny Depp's trial, her expertise in the entertainment industry is unparalleled, which is necessary given that one of the most powerful couples in Hollywood has a direct hand in the film," she said.

Schiffer said Baldoni needs to "allow things to play out."

"When it comes down to it, Justin has a successful movie. Right now, the focus is not on him but on Blake and her choices, and that's where I suggest he try and keep it," he said.