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Blake Lively isn’t too pleased by the magazine cover art that shows her and Ryan Reynolds’ court case with Justin Baldoni.

Following the publication of the Hollywood Reporter’s Feb 21 cover story titled “Blake vs Baldoni: An Exclusive Look Behind the Battle Lines of Hollywood’s Uncivil War,” which depicted an allegory reminiscent of David and Goliath, with me appearing to fire a slingshot loaded with a cellphone at my It Ends With Us director and costar, I felt compelled to release a statement expressing my disapproval of the image.

In response to TopMob News on February 22nd, Lively’s representative expressed dismay, stating that “The Hollywood Reporter should feel embarrassed.” The portrayal in this image is incredibly offensive, as it reinforces every prejudiced stereotype about women who speak up against workplace misconduct. It wrongly presents them as the instigator and implies they invite retaliation, which is unjustified.

The Hollywood Reporter showcased Reynolds as his Deadpool character alongside Wolverine (in collaboration with Baldoni’s character) on their cover, a depiction that Baldoni’s legal team claims in their filing resembles the director. Bryan Freedman, the attorney for Jane the Virgin alum, is also involved.

TopMob News has reached out to the outlet and Baldoni’s reps for comment and has not heard back.

The main story in The Hollywood Reporter implies that the legal dispute is being portrayed as a fresh installment in Hollywood’s persistent pursuit of gender equality. However, it also hints at an alternate perspective, one that suggests the disagreement might stem more from a basic cultural miscommunication rather than a matter of gender equality.

The article mentioned that they spoke with several friends, ex-colleagues of Baldoni, as well as members from the Baha’i community, to understand if and to what extent this religion could potentially have played a role, unintentionally, in the circumstances at hand.

In my own words, I would express this as follows: “I firmly believe that the account given in this situation is deeply troubling, as it appears to excuse well-evidenced cases of sexual misconduct and retaliation by attributing them to mere ‘cultural misunderstandings’.

In December, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, claiming that she and other cast and crew members of the 2024 film “It Ends With Us” were subjected to sexually inappropriate behavior and other uncomfortable actions by the director on set. Additionally, she asserted that he attempted to harm her reputation by collaborating with a crisis PR team.

Baldoni, through his legal representation, has refuted the accusations and in January, he retaliated with a $400 million lawsuit against the actress and Reynolds. This countersuit alleges extortion, defamation, and other misconduct, claiming that it was actually their team who orchestrated and carried out a malicious smear campaign against him, stating they had meticulously planned and executed it.

Previously this month, Lively submitted a revised lawsuit claim, stating that other females had expressed discomfort regarding Baldoni’s suspected conduct and voiced their complaints.

In December, Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, claiming that she and other members of the cast and crew for the 2024 film “It Ends With Us” endured sexually inappropriate behavior and other forms of unwanted conduct from the director on set. Furthermore, she alleged that he sought to harm her reputation by collaborating with a crisis PR team.

As a trusted lifestyle advisor, I must clarify a recent matter involving a prominent figure. Through legal representation, he has refuted the accusations made against him. In the month of January, he took the proactive step to file a $400 million countersuit towards the actress and her partner. This legal action was initiated in response to claims of extortion, defamation, and other questionable actions. The lawsuit alleges that it was their team who orchestrated a malicious smear campaign against him, meticulously planned and executed.

On February 19th, Lively submitted an updated complaint stating that she was not the only one voicing concerns about Mr. Baldoni, and that similar experiences by herself and others were recorded starting from May 2023. Furthermore, she claimed that the director had acknowledged their complaints in writing at the time of the incidents. TopMob News attempted to get a comment from Baldoni but has yet to receive a response.

Read on for more about Lively and Reynolds’ legal battle against Baldoni…

Four months post the theater release of the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us”, Blake Lively reportedly filed a complaint with California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20, as per The New York Times.

The complaint, obtained by TopMob News, names Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, its CEO Jamey Heath, its co-founder Steve Sarowitz, Baldoni’s publicist Jennifer Abel, her company RWA Communications, crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, her company The Agency Group PR LLC (TAG), contractor Jed Wallace and his company Street Relations Inc. as defendants.

Lively’s complaint alleges that Baldoni and Wayfarer associates “initiated a complex media and digital strategy in retaliation” following her expressing concerns about alleged misconduct on set, with Lively stating that she and other cast and crew members “endured intrusive, unwanted, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” from Baldoni and Heath.

The actress further claims the alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to her personally and professionally.

The charges mentioned in the complaint involve sexual harassment; retaliation; neglecting to investigate, prevent, or remedy harassment; aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation; breach of contract; intentional infliction of emotional distress; negligence; false light invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage.

The day after, The New York Times unveiled a revelation concerning a supposed defamatory crusade that Baldoni and his inner circle were accused of orchestrating against Lively – using her CRD complaint as evidence. In their coverage, the publication shared messages exchanged between Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), Nathan (crisis communications specialist), and others – all part of Lively’s complaint. The New York Times website even provided access to the related court documents for perusal by readers.

As an ardent fan, I can’t help but feel outraged and sympathetic as I read Lively’s words: “I hope that my legal endeavor sheds light on these underhanded retaliatory maneuvers aimed at silencing those who speak up against misconduct, and safeguards others from similar targeting.

Following the disclosure of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman—the lawyer for Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their representatives—vehemently denied Lively’s accusations. He stated in a New York Times website post that it was regrettable for Lively and her team to make such grave and undeniably false claims against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. This, he asserted, was merely another desperate attempt to improve Lively’s damaged reputation, which stemmed from her own remarks and actions during the film campaign; public interviews and media activities that were unedited and visible in real time, allowing the internet to form its own opinions. Freedman further explained that these allegations are entirely false, excessively sensationalized, and deliberately crafted to cause harm and perpetuate a narrative in the media.

Freedman also defended Wayfarer’s choice to engage a crisis manager, explaining that this was done before the movie’s marketing campaign. He later added that Wayfarer’s representatives did not take any proactive measures nor retaliate, but only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and accurate reporting and kept track of social activity. Notably absent from the selectively presented correspondence is evidence of a lack of proactive actions with media or otherwise; instead, it shows internal strategic planning, which is standard practice among public relations professionals.

As a devoted follower, I’d rephrase it like this: Upon the publication of an article in The New York Times on December 21st, William Morris Endeavor (WME) chose to part ways with me. Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, it’s important to note that WME denies any involvement from Ryan Reynolds in our separation, a claim I later made in my lawsuit against The New York Times (more on that later). In response to these allegations, WME, who also represents both Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively, issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1st, clarifying that neither Ryan nor Blake pressured my agent during the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere, or at any other time, to drop me as a client. They further stated that my former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere.

Following Lively’s CRD filing and a New York Times article, several notable personalities expressed their support for Lively regarding the accusations against Baldoni. For instance, Hoover, the author of ‘It Ends With Us’, posted on Instagram Stories, praising Lively for her honesty, kindness, and patience since they first met.

Similarly, Jenny Slate, who played Baldoni’s character’s sister, expressed her support for Lively in a statement to Today. She stated that as Lively’s co-star and friend, she stands with her during this situation.

Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared the complaint published on The New York Times website and linked out to the outlet, encouraging others to read it.

Lastly, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants costars – America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn – declared their solidarity with her.

Liz Plank recently announced her decision to step down from ‘The Man Enough Podcast’, which she co-hosted with Baldoni and Heath. In a heartfelt message on Instagram, she expressed gratitude towards her listeners for their trust and support over the past four years. Although she did not specify the reason behind her exit, it followed closely after Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank emphasized that she remains dedicated to the values they built together and looks forward to sharing more as she continues to process recent events. She also vowed to continue supporting those who speak out against injustice and hold accountable those who obstruct them.

In a lawsuit filed in New York on Christmas Eve, Stephanie Jones, Baldoni’s former publicist, and her agency Jonesworks LLC accused Baldoni, his company Wayfarer, his current publicist Abel, and crisis communications specialist Nathan of conspiring against them for months. The lawsuit claims that Abel and Nathan orchestrated a campaign to publicly and privately attack Jones and Jonesworks, breach contracts, and steal clients.

According to the lawsuit, behind Jones’s back, Abel and Nathan coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s co-stars. They then used this crisis as an opportunity to create a rift between Jones and Baldoni and falsely blame Jones for the smear campaign, even though she had no involvement in it.

On her LinkedIn profile, Abel is listed as having worked at Jonesworks until last summer. The lawsuit alleges that Abel and Nathan are now trying to shift the blame onto Jones as their own misconduct is being exposed, defaming and attacking her in the industry.

Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer clients of Jonesworks, are accused in the suit of breaking their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refusing to settle this dispute privately through arbitration.

TopMob News reached out to the defendants for a comment on these allegations.

In a statement given to Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s legal team revealed they obtained the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena sent to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents both Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their Wayfarer associates, further explained that none of his clients were served a subpoena regarding this matter. He also stated his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers without proper authorization.

On December 31st, Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, Nathan, TAG, Abel, RWA Communications, Wallace, and Street Relations filed a lawsuit against The New York Times. In this lawsuit, The New York Times is accused of libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract regarding an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign they allegedly conducted against Lively after she raised concerns about misconduct on set.

The plaintiffs claim the report was untrue and based solely on Lively’s complaint to the CRD, denying the accusations and stating that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. The lawsuit states that The New York Times relied mainly on Lively’s narrative, which they say was unverified and self-serving, while disregarding evidence contradicting her claims and exposing her true motives.

The plaintiffs also allege that it was Lively, not them, who engaged in a calculated smear campaign. However, Lively has denied this. The New York Times has stated they plan to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” They added that their story was thoroughly and responsibly reported, based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails they accurately quoted in the article.

On the same day, Lively initiated a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel in New York. The court documents show that she’s accusing these defendants of sexual harassment, retaliation, failing to address harassment, aiding and abetting such actions, breach of contract, intentionally causing emotional distress, negligently inflicting emotional distress, false light invasion of privacy, among other charges. These accusations were initially outlined in the CRD complaint she filed earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates counter-sued _The New York Times_, which does not name Lively as a defendant. However, her legal team clarified in a statement to TopMob that the lawsuit doesn’t alter any of the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints. They stated that the premise that Lively filed an administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others as a ploy to avoid suing Baldoni, Wayfarer, and that litigation was never her ultimate goal, is false, as demonstrated by the federal complaint she filed that same day.

In their lawsuit against The New York Times, Baldoni and his team have made it clear that they have not finished their legal actions. According to court documents, there are more parties involved in the wrongdoing, and they are preparing for further lawsuits. In a recent interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney Freedman confirmed that they intend to sue Lively as well.

The conversation surrounding Baldoni and Lively hasn’t ended there. For example, some social media users have suggested that Reynolds made fun of Baldoni in his movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool.

Reynolds has not responded to these rumors, but Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman shared his thoughts on the matter. During an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show posted to YouTube on January 7, Freedman stated, “In my opinion, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation. You treat it seriously, file HR complaints, and follow legal procedures. What you shouldn’t do is mock the person and turn it into a joke.

Ms. Lively’s lawyers have stated that since she filed a lawsuit, there have been continued actions against her which go beyond a simple disagreement or he-said-she-said situation. The lawsuit involves allegations of severe sexual harassment and retaliation supported by solid evidence. According to the complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have engaged in unlawful, retaliatory online smear campaigns against Ms. Lively for standing up for herself and others on a film set. These actions are part of a common tactic to divert attention from allegations of such misconduct by blaming the victim or suggesting that the offender is actually the victim. The lawyers emphasized that these tactics normalize and trivialize serious allegations. They also pointed out that media statements do not serve as a defense in this case, and they will present their evidence in court.

On January 16th, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, Abel (publicist), Nathan (crisis communication specialist) and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (Lively’s publicist), and Sloane’s firm Vision PR in New York.

The complaint alleges that all defendants are guilty of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy. Specifically, Lively and Reynolds are accused of breaching the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and they are also charged with intentional interference with contractual relations, economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

The plaintiffs deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. They further accuse Lively of taking control of It Ends With Us and collaborating with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to harm the plaintiffs’ reputation in the press after she faced criticism for promoting the film. (Lively claims that she marketed the movie according to Sony’s marketing plan.)

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants collaborated with The New York Times to release a sensational yet false news report. Despite this allegation, the media outlet defends its report. Regarding the statement made to TopMob, Freedman stated, “Either Blake Lively was deceived by her team or she deliberately misrepresented the truth.

Lively’s legal team referred to his lawsuit as “just another page in the playbook of an abuser,” explaining in a statement to TopMob News, “This scenario is all too familiar: A woman presents solid proof of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the alleged perpetrator tries to counterattack the accuser. Experts call this tactic DARVO – Deny the accusations, Attack the accuser, Reverse Victim and Offender.

She went on to allege that he reacted negatively after she levied charges against him, claiming that Baldoni is attempting to divert attention away from the fact that Lively took over creative direction and estranged the cast from Mr. Baldoni. (This version maintains the original’s meaning but uses simpler language and rephrases some sentences for clarity.)

It was further explained,” the speaker said, “that various individuals associated with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer, including the cast members, had encountered unfavorable encounters with him. Additionally, it will be demonstrated that Sony assigned Ms. Lively to supervise their portion of the movie, which ultimately proved successful after they chose it for distribution.

Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.

As an ardent admirer, I’d rephrase it like this: “In their defense against sexual harassment accusations, they’ve twisted the narrative, claiming she welcomed it, blame lay on her shoulders. Their rationale for such an incident? A glance at what she wore. To put it simply, while the victim fights against the abuse, the abuser targets the victim. This strategy of discrediting the woman is a desperate move, it doesn’t counter the evidence presented in Ms. Lively’s case, and it will crumble.

In a statement, Baldoni’s attorney shared unseen footage from the making of “It Ends With Us“, stating that the actor’s on-set behavior contradicts the portrayal of him by Ms. Lively.

According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the specific moment in question was intended to depict the two characters developing feelings for each other and yearning to be near one another. It is evident that both actors are performing their roles appropriately and professionally within this romantic scene, demonstrating mutual respect throughout.

Nonetheless, Lively’s legal representatives argue that the video aligns precisely with Lively’s account in her lawsuit, suggesting that every scene where this occurred was spontaneously directed by Mr. Baldoni without prior discussion or consent.

The video portrays Ms. Lively distancing herself and repeatedly requesting that the characters converse instead, as reported to TopMob News in a statement. A similar unease is likely to be recognized by any woman who has experienced unwanted physical contact at work.

In their case, the couple wrote to the presiding judge, asking for Freedman, the lead attorney representing Baldoni, to be subjected to a restraining order on speaking publicly. This is aimed at preventing any inappropriate behavior during the ongoing court proceedings.

A seven-minute audio message supposedly sent by Baldoni to Lively during the filming of It Ends With Us was made public. In this message, it seems that Baldoni discussed the movie’s rooftop scene which Lively had rewritten and mentioned a conversation he claimed to have had with Reynolds and their acquaintance Taylor Swift regarding these changes during an alleged meeting.

He said to Lively, “It’s great to have friends as imaginative as them, who are also among the most creative individuals worldwide. The trio of you is simply extraordinary and hard to believe!

In the recording, Baldoni appeared to express an apology to the actress for his tepid response to her script, stating, “I made a mistake. Here’s something important to understand about me: I will acknowledge and apologize when I fall short.

After a full month since Lively’s legal action against Baldoni, I eagerly marked my calendar for our day in court – March 9, 2026.

2025-02-23 21:48

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