Nick Viall Questioned the Alleged Blake Lively Smear Campaign in August

Amid the wave of Blake Lively backlash surrounding the It Ends with Us movie release in August, Bachelor Nation alum Nick Viall was asking tough questions.

In a newly resurfaced clip from his podcast, The Viall Files, Viall questioned why director Justin Baldoni hired a crisis PR manager, Melissa Nathan, in August. Viall noted that Nathan had previously represented Johnny Depp as he underwent legal battles with Amber Heard. "This PR team eviscerated Amber Heard online," Viall said on the podcast. "It was, like, an all-out assault on her character."

Viall added that Lively's supposed reputation for being "difficult to work with" on set "doesn't explain" why key cast members unfollowed Baldoni on social media. "I'm always very skeptical of people who present as flawless, who always say the right things," the Bachelor alum added. "All I know is that the internet is trying to go back and find every little moment that Blake Lively was rude as a justification as to why, whose side to take when the entire cast has unfollowed Justin Baldoni."

The podcaster's months-old comments have new relevance as news of Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni rocks the entertainment world. Lively has accused her costar of sexual harassment and creating a "hostile work environment," per TMZ.

For his part, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman has issued a statement to TMZ and other outlets, calling Lively's allegations "false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt."