Justin Baldoni sued Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds on Thursday, alleging the Hollywood power couple hijacked his film, “It Ends With Us,” and sought to destroy it with false allegations of sexual harassment.
In the 179-page complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, Baldoni and his publicists accuse Lively and Reynolds of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy. The suit seeks at least $400 million in damages.
The lawsuit marks the latest salvo in the all-out war between the “It Ends With Us” co-stars, each seeking to gain the upper hand in the fight against public opinion.
“At its core, this isn’t about celebrities sniping at each other in the press,” Baldoni’s lawsuit says. “This is a case where two of the world’s most powerful stars wield their enormous power to steal an entire film from the hands of its director and production studio… When the plaintiffs have their day in court, the jury will recognize that even the most powerful celebrity cannot bend the truth to their will.
Lively filed her own complaint against Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel on December 31, 10 days after filing her first complaint against them with the California Department of Civil Rights.
Lively accused Baldoni and others of orchestrating an underground media smear campaign against her, in retaliation for her complaints of sexual harassment on the set of the film. His complaint extensively cited text messages from Baldoni’s publicists, in which they claimed they could “bury” him.
In response, Baldoni first sued the New York Times – which first reported Lively’s CRD complaint – alleging that the newspaper had worked with Lively’s team, taking the text messages out of context in order to defame. At the time, his attorney, Bryan Freedman, promised more charges would follow.
“This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of unfalsified evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s disingenuous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team, and their respective companies by releasing grossly altered, unsubstantiated information to the media , new and falsified,” Freedman said in a statement Thursday. “It is clear, given our complete willingness to provide all text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and that she will certainly regret. »
The latest lawsuit reiterates many of the arguments made in the New York Times lawsuit, arguing that the full record shows that Lively’s trial offered a skewed version of events.
“Blake Lively was either seriously misled by his team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth,” Freedman continued. “MS. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit real victims of real harassment solely to enhance her personal reputation, at the expense of those without power. Let us remember that Ms. Lively and her team attempted to destroy the reputations and livelihoods for odious and selfish reasons, by dangerously manipulating the media themselves, before even taking any legal action. We know the truth, and now so does the public. have nothing to hide, the documents don’t lie.
