The legal drama between former It Ends with Us collaborators Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively has taken a significant turn as of late. Weeks after she filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and more, Lively formally sued them for alleged sexual harassment, retaliation and more. This past week saw Baldoni and co. file suit against Lively, her husband, Ryan Reynolds and more for alleged defamation, extortion and more. Lively’s team responded to the suit and, now, Baldoni’s lawyer is going on the offense.
Justin Baldoni’s camp formally sued Blake Lively and co. just days ago, and the Age of Adaline actress’ team issued a response that was shared with Deadline. Lively’s camp referred to Baldoni’s suit as “another chapter in the abuser playbook.” They also argued that “while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim,” before calling the supposed legal strategy “desperate.” This weekend, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, spoke to the trade and didn’t mince words when discussing Lively’s team:
After my clients filed a comprehensive lawsuit packed with almost 200 pages of undeniable facts and documentary evidence which crushed their false allegations of a smear campaign by providing doctored communications to the New York Times, Blake and her legal team have just one heinous pivot left, and that is to double down on the revoltingly false sexual allegations against Mr. Baldoni.
This legal back-and-forth began in earnest in December 2020 when Blake Lively filed the aforementioned legal complaint against Justin Baldoni and his associates at his company, Wayfarer Studios. The filing featured claims of sexual harassment on the set of It End with Us by Baldoni and an alleged smear campaign launched against Lively by Baldoni and his crisis management team. Said allegations, along with leaked emails and texts were laid out in a bombshell interview published by the New York Times. However, Baldoni and his lawyers responded, denying the accusations and eventually opted to sue the NYT for $250 million over alleged libel and more.
It was earlier in January that the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum opted to formally sue Justin Baldoni, who later revealed his intent to sue her. The IEWU director and co-lead eventually filed suit against the aforementioned actress, Ryan Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloan and Vision PR, with the suit valued at $400 million. Baldoni’s extensive lawsuit also seemingly mentions other notable names, including Taylor Swift, who’s allegedly confused by that. The Jane the Virgin also sent a litigation letter to Marvel Studios, as he believes Reynolds was lampooning him with the Nicepool character in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Amid the legal back-and-forth, Blake Lively and her team have shot down the notion of this merely being a “feud” of some sort. When it comes to the Five Feet Apart director and his camp, Bryan Freedman seems adamant about defending his client. Their suit against Lively and her spouse seems to boil down to their belief that the celebrity couple are using their influence and privilege to have their way in this case. Freedman doubled down on that in another statement shared with Deadline:
The mere fact that Ms. Lively feels that she can publicly destroy Mr. Baldoni’s reputation in an attempt to devastate his future career and then deny him or his team their own ability to defend theirselves against her is preposterous. Mr Baldoni never once publicly attempted to call Ms. Lively out for her own many wrongdoings during filming, he kindly addressed all her concerns during filming in the correct manner despite the fact that he wholly disagreed, he himself was committed to do things differently and to keep the peace as she specifically admitted to in her own lawsuit. We will not only continue to defend our clients against Blake’s power, privilege and all out lies, but we will now fight even harder for the voiceless in the DV community who are unfairly suffering while she continues to push on her own self-serving and selfish vendetta in the media.
As noted by the trade, this Lively/Baldoni situation could result in even more lawsuits. It remains to be seen as to how this matter will ultimately play out. What seems to be the case right now, though, is that neither side is looking to back down from their viewpoints in this sprawling legal battle.
