Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal battle continues.
Following my lawsuit against Lively on January 16, approximately a month after she initiated legal action against me, accusing me of sexual harassment during the filming of “It Ends With Us” and her subsequent claims against my production company Wayfarer, I was met with a strongly-worded response from Lively in a statement.
In a declaration made to TopMob News, Lively’s legal team expressed that this situation echoes a long-standing narrative: A person alleges sexual harassment and retaliation with solid proof, only for the accused to counterattack and try to shift the blame onto the accuser. This tactic is often referred to as DARVO – Deny the accusations, Attack the accuser, Reverse the roles of Victim and Offender.
In simpler terms, her lawyers stated that Baldoni’s lawsuit can be seen as another tactic in the playbook of abusers, aiming to confuse the public into believing that his legal action is a response to accusations of sexual harassment rather than retaliation against those same allegations.
In simpler terms, the statement implies that instead of focusing on Mr. Baldoni, they are attempting to blame Ms. Lively by spreading untrue stories about her taking creative control and causing conflicts with the cast. However, evidence will be presented indicating that both Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer had negative interactions with the cast as well. Furthermore, it was Sony who requested Ms. Lively to supervise their version of the film, which they subsequently chose for distribution and achieved significant success.
Lively’s team also said Baldoni’s “strategy of attacking the woman is desperate.”
The text’s original meaning can be rephrased as follows: “How they justified sexual harassment claims against them: she asked for it, it’s her fault,” the statement stated. “Their explanation for why this happened to her: see what she was wearing. In essence, while the victim is concerned about the abuse, the abuser is focused on the victim herself.
TopMob News has reached out to Sony’s rep and Baldoni’s lawyer for comment but hasn’t heard back.
Amidst several weeks of ongoing legal exchanges between Lively and Justin, both have accused each other of running a negative campaign aimed at influencing public perception, as part of an attempt to gain advantage over one another.
According to documents acquired by TopMob News and filed by Baldini, Baldini has initiated a lawsuit against Lively, her spouse Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane, seeking a staggering sum of $400 million.
In a recent claim, the 40-year-old individual – who was both in front of and behind the camera for It Ends With Us – asserts that Lively had a strong intention to portray Baldoni as the true antagonist in her real-life narrative. Moreover, it is alleged that Lively fabricated stories about sexual harassment involving Baldoni.
She argues that any negative image she faced after the movie launch, due to fans criticizing her for promoting personal ventures instead of discussing the film’s theme of domestic violence, was self-inflicted, rather than a deliberate smear tactic, as suggested in her lawsuit.
According to Baldoni’s lawsuit, while Lively accused Baldoni of spreading false information, the truth is that it was actually Lively and her team who strategically orchestrated a malicious smear operation against Baldoni and Wayfarer. The intention behind this campaign was to divert attention from Lively’s own disastrous decisions.
As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but share my excitement about the recent turn of events involving my beloved Jane the Virgin alum. This passionate advocate has taken a legal stand against the December article published in The New York Times, claiming that the evidence presented was manipulated. His team asserts that there was a coordinated effort between Lively’s camp and The New York Times to release a sensational news report that was not only damaging but also untrue. (It’s important to note that on December 31st, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against the outlet for libel, an allegation that the newspaper has denied.)
The lawsuit also contains additional accusations against Lively. Baldoni alleges that Lively hadn’t read Colleen Hoover’s book, which served as the basis for the movie, and further claims that she unnecessarily interfered in the filmmaking process by inserting herself beyond what her contract allowed. Additionally, he states that Lively declined to meet with the domestic violence partner organization, No More.
Reports of a dispute between Lively and Baldoni started circulating during the summer, as they appeared to avoid joint public appearances for their movie promotion. These rumors gained credibility on December 20, when it was reported that Lively had filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department.
In his accusations against Baldoni, as outlined in the complaint and further detailed in Lively’s December 31 lawsuit, Lively alleges that Baldoni added explicit sexual scenes without her approval in the movie “It Ends With Us“, that he entered her trailer unexpectedly while she was breastfeeding their fourth child, and that he pried into her and Reynolds’ private intimate life in an intrusive manner.
In his court case, Baldoni disputes all the allegations made earlier, which his legal representative had termed “grave and absolutely untrue insinuations.
In the accusations directed at Baldoni, both echoed in the initial complaint and Lively’s lawsuit on Dec 31st, Lively asserts that Baldoni inserted explicit sexual content or nudity scenes without her approval in It Ends With Us, entered her trailer uninvited while she was breastfeeding her and Reynolds’ fourth child, and inappropriately probed into her and Reynolds’ intimate relationships.
In the court case, Baldoni denies all the allegations made against him, which his legal representative had earlier termed as “grave and completely unfounded accusations.
For a complete breakdown of Lively and Baldoni’s legal journey up to now, keep reading.
Four months post the theater release of the movie based on Colleen Hoover’s book “It Ends With Us”, Blake Lively lodged a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) against her costar Justin Baldoni and his associates on December 20, as reported by The New York Times.
In the complaint obtained by TopMob News, Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios (Wayfarer), its CEO Jamey Heath, its cofounder 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. were named as defendants.
Lively claimed in her complaint that Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates retaliated against her with a complex press and digital strategy after she expressed concerns about alleged misconduct on set, stating that she and other cast and crew members endured invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior from Baldoni and Heath.
The actress further stated that this alleged campaign against her caused significant harm to her personally and professionally.
The charges mentioned in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure to investigate, prevent and/or rectify 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 following day, The New York Times released an article detailing a supposed counterattack smear strategy initiated by Baldoni and his colleagues, allegedly aimed at Lively – referring to her CRD complaint. In their report, the news outlet highlighted messages sent from Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), and Nathan (crisis communications specialist), all mentioned in her complaint. The article also provided access for readers to view related court documents on The New York Times‘s official website. Lively expressed her hope that this legal action would expose such underhanded retaliatory tactics used to harm those who speak out against misconduct, and safeguard others who may become targets in the future.
Following the disclosure of Lively’s complaint, Bryan Freedman – attorney for Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their representatives – fiercely disputed Lively’s accusations. He stated in a NY Times website post that it was regrettable for Lively and her team to make such severe and untrue claims against Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives. This was another desperate attempt to improve her negative reputation, which stemmed from comments and actions during the film campaign; interviews and press activities that were publicly viewable in real time and uncensored, allowing for public opinion to form organically on the internet. These claims are entirely false, excessively outrageous, and deliberately sensational with the intention of causing harm and perpetuating a negative narrative in the media.
Freedman also defended Wayfarer’s choice to hire a crisis manager, explaining that this was done prior to the movie’s marketing campaign. He later added that Wayfarer’s representatives didn’t take any proactive measures nor retaliated; they only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and accurate reporting and monitored social activity. What is notably absent from the selectively shared correspondence is the evidence that no proactive measures were taken with the media or otherwise; just internal strategic planning and private communication, which is standard practice among public relations professionals.
Following the publication of an article in The New York Times on December 21, talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) decided to part ways with Baldoni. This decision was later confirmed by Ari Emanuel, CEO of WME’s parent company Endeavor, to the outlet. However, it’s important to note that WME has denied any involvement from Ryan Reynolds, who is both a client and husband of Blake Lively at WME, in their decision to end their relationship with Baldoni. This allegation was later made by Baldoni in a lawsuit filed against The New York Times (more on this below). In response to these claims, WME stated to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1 that there was no truth to the claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent during the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. Furthermore, they emphasized that Baldoni’s former representative was not present at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere and that there was never any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.
After Lively’s CRD filing and an article in The New York Times, numerous prominent figures expressed their reactions to her accusations against Baldoni. Among them was the author of “It Ends With Us,” Hoover, who showed her support on Instagram Stories, praising Lively for her honesty, kindness, patience, and uniqueness.
Jenny Slate, who portrayed Baldoni’s character Ryle’s sister, also expressed solidarity with Lively. In a statement to Today on Dec 23rd, she stated that as Lively’s castmate and friend, she voiced her support for Lively as she took action against those accused of damaging her reputation. Slate admired Lively’s bravery and stood by her side.
Brandon Sklenar, a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared the complaint published in The New York Times on his social media, urging 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 shared that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast” with Baldoni and Heath. She announced this on Instagram, expressing gratitude for her listeners’ trust and support over the past four years. Although she didn’t provide a specific reason for leaving, her decision came shortly after Lively’s complaint against Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank concluded by expressing her commitment to upholding the values they built together and supporting those who speak out against injustice. She also mentioned that she would share more details soon as she processes the recent events.
In a lawsuit filed on December 24th in New York, 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 allegations include publicly and privately attacking Jones and Jonesworks, breaching contracts, inducing contractual breaches, and stealing clients and business prospects.
The lawsuit claims that behind Jones’ back, Abel and Nathan coordinated with Baldoni and Wayfarer to launch a smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s film co-stars. They then used the ensuing crisis as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Jones and Baldoni and to falsely blame Jones for the smear campaign, which she had no knowledge or involvement in.
According to Abel’s LinkedIn profile, she worked at Jonesworks until last summer. The lawsuit alleges that Abel and Nathan are now falsely accusing Jones of misconduct as their own actions come to light, and they are defaming and attacking her in the industry.
Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks clients, are accused of repudiating their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refusing Jones’ attempts to settle the dispute privately through arbitration.
TopMob News reached out to the defendants for comment.
In a statement to Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s lawyers revealed they obtained the texts mentioned in The New York Times article through a subpoena sent to Jonesworks. Freedman, who represents Nathan, Abel, Baldoni, and their Wayfarer associates, further clarified that none of his clients were served with a subpoena regarding this matter. He also expressed his intention to file a lawsuit against Jones for disclosing texts from Abel’s phone to Lively’s lawyers.
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 for an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs allegedly conducted against Lively after she expressed concerns about misconduct on set.
The plaintiffs claim that the report was untrue and based solely on Lively’s complaint to CRD, denying the accusations and asserting that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. According to the lawsuit, The New York Times primarily relied on Lively’s unverified narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while ignoring evidence contradicting her claims and revealing her true motives.
Additionally, they allege that it was Lively, not the plaintiffs, who initiated a calculated smear campaign, which she has since denied. In response, The New York Times stated it intends to “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” They added, “The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead. Our story was thoroughly and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length 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, obtained by TopMob News, indicate that she is accusing the defendants of various offenses such as sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to address harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentionally causing emotional distress, negligently causing emotional distress, and invasion of privacy through false light.
The allegations against the defendants were initially detailed in the CRD complaint Lively filed earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates have filed a counterclaim against The New York Times (which does not name Lively as a defendant). However, her lawyers stated in a response to TopMob that “the contents of this lawsuit do not alter the claims made in her CRD and federal complaints.”
“The premise of this lawsuit is incorrect,” they added. “It suggests that Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was merely a strategy to avoid filing a lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer, and that litigation was never her ultimate goal. However, the federal complaint filed by Lively today demonstrates that this interpretation of her lawsuit is false.
In their legal battle against The New York Times, Baldoni and his team have made it clear that they have not finished their fight. As court documents reveal, there are more parties involved in the wrongdoing, and rest assured, this won’t be the only lawsuit they initiate. During a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney Freedman confirmed that they intend to take legal action against Lively as well.
The conversation surrounding Baldoni and Lively hasn’t ended, as some have suggested that Reynolds may have teased Baldoni in his film “Deadpool & Wolverine” through the character Nicepool. However, Reynolds has not addressed these rumors directly, but Baldoni’s lawyer, Freedman, shared his thoughts on the matter during an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show, posted to YouTube on Jan 7. According to Freedman, if your wife is sexually harassed, you don’t make light of Justin Baldoni’s situation or turn it into a joke. Instead, you should take action by filing complaints, raising the issue, and following proper legal procedures.
As an ardent supporter of Ms. Lively, let me clarify the situation from my perspective. The lawsuit filed by Ms. Lively against Wayfarer Entertainment isn’t merely a disagreement or a ‘he said, she said’ scenario as some might suggest. Instead, it’s a grave matter of sexual harassment and retaliation that her attorneys have substantiated with factual evidence.
To put it bluntly, Wayfarer and their associates are accused of engaging in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively when she was simply trying to safeguard herself and others on a film set. In response to the lawsuit, they’ve continued their attacks on her.
During this legal process, it’s crucial for everyone to remember that sexual harassment and retaliation are unacceptable in any workplace or industry. A common tactic used to divert attention from such misconduct is to blame the victim by implying they invited it, brought it upon themselves, or misunderstood the intentions. Another tactic is to reverse the roles of victim and offender, suggesting that the offender was actually the one wronged.
The lawyers for Ms. Lively have made it clear that these tactics normalize and trivialize serious allegations. Moreover, they’ve emphasized that media statements are not a defense against her claims, and they will vigorously pursue justice in court.
On January 16th, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, Abel (publicist), Nathan (crisis communication specialist), and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit in New York against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (her publicist), and her firm Vision PR. The plaintiffs claim that all defendants have engaged in civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of good faith and fair dealing, intentional and negligent interference with contractual relations, and economic advantage.
The plaintiffs deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. Instead, they accuse Lively of seizing control of It Ends With Us and collaborating with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to tarnish the reputation of the plaintiffs in the media after she faced backlash for promoting the film (Lively claims that she followed Sony’s marketing plan).
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants colluded with The New York Times to publish a sensational yet inaccurate news report. Despite this allegation, the media outlet maintains its confidence in the report’s accuracy. Meanwhile, Freedman stated to TopMob that Blake Lively was either deceived by her team or deliberately misled truthful information.
A person accuses someone else of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the accused then tries to shift blame onto the accuser. This tactic is often referred to as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender.
She also claimed that he responded negatively after she brought charges against him, arguing that Baldoni is attempting to divert attention from the fact that Lively took control of the creative process and allegedly drove the cast away from Mr. Baldoni.
It was further stated, “The proof will demonstrate that both the cast members and others encountered unfavorable interactions with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. Additionally, the evidence will reveal that Sony tasked Ms. Lively to supervise their portion of the film, which they subsequently chose for distribution and achieved significant success.
Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.
In a nutshell, their defense against sexual harassment accusations centered around blaming the victim, stating she invited it and was at fault. Additionally, they implied that her attire was responsible for the incident. However, her legal team asserted that this tactic of attacking the woman is pathetic, has no bearing on the evidence presented in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and ultimately will not succeed as they focus on the abuse itself.
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2025-01-17 06:19