DIY VIRAL
Blake Lively.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesBlake Lively's lawyers condemn “more attacks” from Justin Baldoni and his team.
The New York Times broke the news Dec. 21 that Lively had sued Baldoni, her co-star and director in It ends with us — about sexual harassment. Baldoni denied all the charges against him in court, which were got Us Weeklyand a few days later was among 10 plaintiffs who launched a $250 million lawsuit vs The New York Times for covering Lively's allegations.
On New Year's Eve, Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit in court v. Baldoni, 40, in New York federal court, mirroring her earlier claims filed with the California Department of Civil Rights. Besides Baldoni, Lively is suing publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abelas well as Baldonia's production company Wayfarer Studios.
The actress' lawyers said People on Monday, Jan. 6, said in a statement that Lively's “serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation” are “supported by specific facts.”
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's feud made headlines months before the 'It Ends With Us' cast filed lawsuits. While Lively and Baldoni were promoting the film in August 2024, rumors of a possible feud between the pair began to swirl. Fans noticed that Lively was promoting the movie with some of her co-stars, while Baldoni, who (…)
“This is not a 'hate' stemming from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation,” the lawyers said in a statement. “As Ms. Lively's complaint alleges, and as we will prove at trial, Wayfarer (Studios) and its associates have engaged in unlawful, vindictive astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch a series of attacks against Ms. Lively since she was filed.
The statement states: “Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and every industry. A classic tactic to deflect attention from accusations of this type of wrongdoing is to “blame the victim” by suggesting that they invited the act, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied.
Lively's team continued: “Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender and make it appear that the offender is actually the victim. These concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious wrongdoing.
And in closing, they wrote: “Most importantly, the media statements are not a defense to Ms. Lively's legal claims. We will continue to pursue her claims in federal court, where the rule of law determines who prevails, not hyperbole and threats.
The knives are well and truly out when it comes to Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's professional relationship. Both Lively, 37, and Baldoni, 40, have claimed in their legal battles that they each participated in the creation of different cuts of the film at the heart of the drama It Ends With Us. in (…)
Us Weekly turned to Baldonis's lawyer, Brian Friedmanfor comment.
On Thursday, January 2, Friedman said NBC News that he “absolutely” planned to sue Lively on behalf of his client.
“We plan to release every text message between the two of them,” Freedman told the outlet. “We want the truth out there. We want the documents out. We want people to make their decision based on the receipt.
He previously shared a statement with Wepromising to “tear down” The New York Times for his “vicious smear campaign”.
As for timessaid the representative We that the outlet plans to “defend vigorously.”
“It is the job of an independent news organization to follow the facts where they lead,” the Dec. 31 statement said. “Our story was carefully and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and extensively in the article. Those texts and emails were also the primary cause of the discrimination claim filed by the California filed by Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni et al.
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DIY VIRAL
