Topline
An attorney for “It Ends With Us” director and actor Justin Baldoni confirmed Friday morning his client plans to countersue his co-star Blake Lively, claiming the legal filing will show new text messages between the film’s two stars “for the world to see.”
Justin Baldoni at the “It Ends With Us” New York Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on Aug. 6, … [+]
Timeline
Entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman told NBC’s “Today” he “absolutely” plans to file suit against Lively after she alleged she was subjected to “sexually inappropriate behavior” by Baldoni on the set of their 2024 film, but wouldn’t say exactly what the countersuit would allege, though denied Lively’s claim that Baldoni and his team launched a smear campaign against the actress.
Baldoni filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against The New York Times for the paper’s reporting on Lively’s allegations, accusing the outlet of having “cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites”—Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
Lively formally filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Baldoni, his publicist, Wayfarer Studios and other defendants for “retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns.”
Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni invaded her privacy by “entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed,” pressured her to lose weight four months after giving birth and coordinated a PR campaign with a crisis firm “designed to ‘destroy’ Ms. Lively’s reputation.”
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Blake Lively at a UK gala screening for “It Ends With Us” on Aug. 8, 2024.
Crucial Quote
“I am more than willing to take every single text message that exists out there, lay them out, put them on a website for the world to see,” Freedman said Friday. “Have them see the truth and determine the truth for themselves.”
Key Background
Baldoni directed and co-starred with Lively in “It Ends With Us,” the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling book of the same name, which released last August. Rumors of a rift developing between Lively and Baldoni during post-production began to emerge around the movie’s release, and were further fueled during the film’s press tour when Lively appeared to avoid mention of Baldoni in interviews. Speculation emerged that there were disputes over creative control and sources told TMZ Baldoni had “fat-shamed” Lively by inquiring about her weight, telling an on-set trainer he wanted to avoid injury while lifting the actress in the movie. Baldoni and Lively were never photographed together while promoting “It Ends With Us.” As rumors of a feud grew, Baldoni hired Melissa Nathan, a crisis PR manager who represented Johnny Depp in his defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard. According to texts published by The New York Times, Nathan suggested plans including “full social take downs” by creating “threads of theories” and planting pieces in the media of “how horrible Blake is to work with.” Lively said the alleged smear campaign had caused “severe emotional distress” for her and her family, prompting her to back out of hosting the “Saturday Night Live” season 50 premiere.
Surprising Fact
Around the time of the “It Ends With Us” premiere, Lively was the subject of intense criticism online targeting how she promoted the film, the opportune release of her haircare line and other behaviors. In one promotional video, Lively encourages the audience to “grab your friends, wear your florals and head out to see (the movie).” Fans instantly criticized Lively’s upbeat tone and claimed she was attempting to promote the movie as a lighthearted love story, cheapening the movie’s serious take on domestic abuse. Comments on the video attacked Lively—”shame on you and your PR team for turning a blind eye,” one said—but praised Baldoni for how he handled promotion. Lively was also criticized for seeming to promote her newly launched hair-care line, Blake Brown, off the back of the film, but it was later revealed that the two were never supposed to launch at the same time. Production delays caused by Hollywood strikes in 2023 pushed the premiere of “It Ends With Us,” then coinciding with the predetermined launch date of the brand. At the same time, Lively was freshly criticized for her reaction to an interviewer in a resurfaced 2016 clip. Lively’s lawsuits claim the public’s attacks were part of the smear campaign she says was orchestrated against her.
Further Reading
