Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively’s legal brawl deepened Thursday, as Baldoni and a group of plaintiffs sued his former “It Ends With Us” costar for $400 million.
The suit claims Lively falsely accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in order to hijack the film’s creative direction and promotion. The lawsuit also names Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and PR rep, Leslie Sloane, as defendants.
While some of the lawsuit rehashes allegations that appeared in an earlier suit against The New York Times, there are fresh claims in Baldoni’s latest action — including an apparent nod to Taylor Swift.
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement. “A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim.”
“They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni,” the statement continued. “The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”
“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,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told BI in a statement.
Here are 6 takeaways from the latest chapter in the legal saga.
