Blake Lively has responded to Justin Baldoni's $400 million defamation lawsuit in which he accused the actress and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of hijacking the film It Ends with Us. Lively's legal team referred to Baldoni's accusations as "another chapter in the abuser playbook."
In a statement, lawyers for Lively claimed Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, which produced the film, used resources to "issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public's ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations."
Highlights
- Blake Lively called Justin Baldoni's $400M lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook."
- Baldoni accused Lively of hijacking 'It Ends With Us' and disseminating "grossly edited" information to the press.
- Lively previously accused the director of sexual harassment.
"This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim," the statement continues.
Blake Lively called Justin Baldoni's recent $400 million defamation lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook"
Image credits: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
"This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender."
They also accused Baldoni and his associates of "trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast" from the actor and director.
"The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony's cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success."
The statement concludes: "Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it's her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing.
"In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate; it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively's complaint, and it will fail."
"The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate," Lively's legal team stated
Image credits: Araya Doheny/Variety
On Thursday (January 16), Baldoni sued Lively and Reynolds on claims of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy. The suit seeks at least $400 million in damages.
Baldoni's legal team accused the couple of using their power to "destroy" his reputation.
"At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press," Baldoni's lawsuit states. "This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio.
"When Plaintiffs have their day in court, the jury will recognize that even the most powerful celebrity cannot bend the truth to her will."
The legal battle between the actors began in December when Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, and producer Jamey Heath, ten days after lodging her initial complaint against them with the California Civil Rights Department.
The It Ends With Us actor and director sued Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, on claims of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy
Image credits: blakelively
In her lawsuit, the 37-year-old star accused Baldoni and his team of orchestrating a media smear campaign against her in retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment on the set of the Collen Hoover adaptation.
Lively accused Baldoni of creating a "hostile work environment." She said he entered her trailer "uninvited" while she was undressed and "suddenly" pressured her to "simulate full nudity" in a scene and film intimate scenes that had not been previously discussed.
Image credits: Netflix
Her complaint, first reported by The New York Times, included text messages from Baldoni's publicists in which they claimed they were able to "bury" the actress.
Baldoni then sued The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of working with Lively and taking the text messages out of context in an attempt to stain his reputation.
Bryan Freeman, Baldoni's attorney, said that the latest lawsuit is "based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team's duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team, and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.”
Baldoni claims that Lively orchestrated a smear campaign against him to "destroy" his reputation and tried to hijack the film
Image credits: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
He also stated that his team would provide "all complete text messages, emails, video footage, and other documentary evidence" that was shared between the parties.
"Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth," the attorney continued.
"Ms. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit actual victims of real harassment solely for her personal reputation gain at the expense of those without power.
"We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide; documents do not lie."
Baldoni's latest suit also alleges that, following the film's premiere, Lively and Reynolds tried to get him to publicly apologize for unspecified "mistakes" made during production and to take the blame for the rift at a time when rumors were circulating of a tense relationship between the artists.
Lively's legal team described Baldoni's countersuit as a retaliatory "strategy" against her following her sexual harassment accusations
Image credits: Netflix
Image credits: Netflix
According to the lawsuit, Baldoni was threatened that if he did not take responsibility for the rift, "the gloves would come off."
"They took a stand, knowing full well that Lively and Reynolds would bring the full might of their celebrity artillery against them," the legal document states. "And that is precisely what happened."
Additionally, Baldoni alleges Lively took control over the film's script, including rewriting the "rooftop" scene in which their characters meet. He claims he was pressured to accept Lively's version by her and her celebrity friends, whom Lively allegedly described as her "dragons."
The complaint mentions that Lively’s team “escorted” the Jane the Virgin star to the basement during the film’s premiere in August 2024 because she “demanded he not attend.”
The filing details how Baldoni's publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel endured death threats and anti-Semitic comments following Lively's accusations, as per The Daily Mail.
Image credits: Netflix
Nathan and Abel say Lively orchestrated a smear campaign against Baldoni to "gain undeserved public sympathy for her own missteps."
During the press tour for It Ends With Us, before Lively filed her sexual harassment suit, the actress faced online criticism for what many perceived as a superficial approach to promoting the film, rather than addressing the issue of domestic violence, the movie's central theme.
"With this filing, we lift our own curtain of what happens when the entitled weaponize power, fear, and money to destroy, intimidate, and bully those who get in their way," Nathan and Abel told The Daily Mail.
Lively denies hijacking the film, stating that Sony asked her to get involved in the editing process, and maintains that Baldoni is attempting to shift the narrative to deflect attention from her accusations of sexual harassment.
The legal dispute continues as both parties try to sway public opinion in their favor. Lively has received public support from some of her It Ends With Us co-stars who worked alongside her and Baldoni, including Brandon Sklenar and Jenny Slate.
People continue to debate which party in the legal dispute is telling the truth
