Justin Baldoni sues Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400 million in new step in ‘It Ends With Us’ fight

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “It ends with us” Actor and director Justin Baldoni sued his co-star Blake Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, for defamation on Thursday, the latest step in a bitter legal battle surrounding the dark romantic drama.

Baldoni’s suit seeks at least $400 million in damages, including lost future earnings. The lawsuit by Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios, which also names publicist Leslie Sloane as a defendant, comes about two weeks after Lively sued Baldoni and several others connected to the film, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack his reputation as a revelation. his treatment on set.

This trial took place the same day that Baldoni sued the New York Times for defamation, alleging that the newspaper worked with Lively to defame him.

The new complaint filed in New York federal court says the plaintiffs did not want to pursue a lawsuit, but that Lively “clearly left them no choice, not only to set the record straight in response to Lively’s accusations , but also to set the record straight. the spotlight on the parts of Hollywood they have devoted their careers to being the antithesis of.

An email seeking comment from Sloane, whose public relations firm represents both Lively and Reynolds, was not immediately responded to.

The two actors are also both represented by the agency WME, which dropped Baldoni as a client after Lively filed a legal complaint that was a precursor to her lawsuit and the Times published its article about the brawl surrounding the film.

The surprise hit film based on Colleen Hoover’s novel has made waves in Hollywood and led to discussions about the treatment of female actresses on film sets and in the media.