Justin Baldoni fired back at Blake Lively.
Scathingly, we should point out.
As you've probably already read, Lively threatened to sue her It Ends With Us co-star for sexual harassment… alleging in an explosive complaint that Baldoni created a hostile work environment on the set of the aforementioned film.
She also claims that Baldoni and his public relations team participated in a campaign to smear her reputation.
Specifically, the documents in question state that Baldoni caused Lively “severe emotional distress” due to his behavior…including “showing videos or images of naked women to Blake,” as well as a discussion about ” pornography addiction” or Baldoni’s past “sex addiction.” conquests. »
Pretty serious stuff, right?
However, according to Baldoni's lawyer, FAKE thing.
In a statement released on January 7, attorney Bryan Freedman said:
“It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponizing the media when, he claims, his own team orchestrated this brutal attack by sending crudely edited documents to the New York Times before even filing the complaint. »
Indeed, Lively sent alleged text messages from Baldoni to this publication as part of her article last month documenting the alleged harassment.
“We are releasing all evidence that will show a pattern of intimidation and threats to reshoot the film,” Freedman added Tuesday, alleging:
“None of this will come as a surprise because, consistent with her past behavior, Blake Lively used others to communicate these threats and intimidate her into getting what she wanted. We have all the receipts and more .
Lively and Baldoni faced off on It Ends With Us.
A big screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's wildly popular book, the film grossed $242 million worldwide and was considered a box office success last year.
But any success has now been overshadowed by allegations between the two leads, as the tension became evident almost from the star of the film's PR campaign.
It didn't take long for fans to notice, for example, that Baldoni and Lively didn't sit down for joint interviews or pose for red carpet photos together.
Just a day ago, Lively's legal team told People Magazine that her “serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation,” first filed in a California complaint on December 20, 2024, were “supported by concrete facts.”
“This is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/she said' situation,” his lawyers' statement read.
“As Ms. Lively's complaint alleges, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer (Studios) and its associates engaged in illegal retaliatory activities against Ms. Lively for simply attempting to protect themselves and to protect others on a film set.
“And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks on Ms. Lively since it was filed.”
The actress' initial complaint included accusations that Baldoni and another producer entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable.”
He also claimed that Baldoni “suddenly” pressured her to “simulate full nudity” in a birth scene and “improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed or discussed with Ms. Lively, without any intimacy coordinator involved.”
On December 31, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against the New York Times over the newspaper's December 21 article about Lively's complaint, alleging that it was the actress “who was engaged in a calculated smear campaign.”
We really have no idea where this leaves us, except to say:
We doubt there will be a sequel to It Ends With Us.
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