Justin Baldoni leans on his loved ones amid ‘It Ends With Us’ drama.
After the 40-year-old actor filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR Inc. on Thursday, he revealed how he gets away with it.
“We’re grateful to be with the family,” Baldoni told TMZ Friday while at Los Angeles International Airport.
The “Jane the Virgin” alum added, “Oh man, we have amazing friends, family and faith.”
The same day, a source told E! News that Baldoni, his wife Emily and their two children, daughter Maiya and son Maxwell, were going on a family getaway.
Baldoni’s lawyers filed the suit Thursday in the Southern District of New York on behalf of the “It Ends With Us” director, producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis reporter Melissa Nathan.
Baldoni is suing for civil extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy by false light, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with potential economic advantage, and negligent interference in a potential economic benefit.
Details of the suit also allege that Lively, 37, took steps to gain control of the film.
According to the 179-page complaint obtained by The Post, “Lively began to insert herself into the production process in an intrusive manner well beyond the scope of her contractual right.”
“For example, Lively began to emphasize creative control over her character’s wardrobe. Although lead actors are sometimes given approval over the overall appearance of their characters, they usually do not have complete control over them.
Following the lawsuit, Lively’s lawyer responded to the complaint, calling it “retaliation for allegations of sexual harassment.”
“This latest lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and his associates is another chapter in the abusers’ playbook,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement to The Post.
“It’s an old story: a woman comes forward with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the attacker tries to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Refuse. Attack. Reverse delinquent victim.
The “Gossip Girl” star previously sued Baldoni in December, alleging he caused her to suffer “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittling, frustration and mental anguish.”
Lively alleges this caused her to lose her wages and she is seeking punitive damages in an “amount to be determined at trial.”
“MS. Lively has already sent her complaint to the California Department of Civil Rights in response to Wayfarer’s retaliatory campaign against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns,” her attorney said .
Lively herself issued her own statement, sharing: “I hope that my legal action will help lift the veil on these sinister retaliatory tactics aimed at harming people who speak out against misconduct and help protect others who may be targeted. »
