As a seasoned lifestyle advisor, I’ve found myself reflecting on my experiences, particularly those shared during the filming of “The It Ends With Us.” After much consideration, I feel compelled to share my perspective amidst the ongoing legal proceedings with my esteemed colleague, Justin Baldoni. The set was a unique and enriching environment that allowed us to create a powerful story together.
The legal team for the actress, who is taking legal action against her co-star for alleged sexual harassment, stated on January 21st that a 10-minute video supports every detail of what she claimed in her lawsuit.
As a loyal follower, I’d like to share that Justin Baldoni and his legal team might be trying to preempt damaging evidence against him by this recent action, but the video itself is incriminating. The video depicts Mr. Baldoni persistently coming close to Ms. Lively, attempting a kiss on her lips, kissing her forehead, brushing his face and mouth against her neck, flicking her lower lip with his thumb, caressing her, complimenting her scent, and engaging in conversation that seems out of character for him.
It’s claimed that every instance during the event was spontaneously created by Mr. Baldoni without any prior conversation or agreement, and there was no intimacy consultant on set.
In the statement, it’s clarified that Mr. Baldoni held multiple roles in relation to Ms. Lively – not just a co-star, but also the director, head of the studio, and her supervisor on set. Later, it was mentioned that the footage displayed Ms. Lively leaning back and repeatedly requesting for their characters to engage only in dialogue.
The former star of “Gossip Girl”‘s legal advisor further commented, “Any woman who has experienced inappropriate touch at work will identify with Ms. Lively’s unease. They will recognize her attempts to use humor to divert unwanted touching. No woman should be compelled to adopt defensive strategies to prevent being touched by their boss without their permission.
TopMob News contacted Baldoni’s representative for a response regarding Lively’s statement, but we haven’t received one yet. Earlier today, Baldoni’s legal team shared behind-the-scenes footage with TopMob News, claiming that the video evidence contradicts Lively’s portrayal of Baldoni.
In the video released by Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni, it shows that during filming of a quiet dance scene for a montage in the movie, Lively and the actor seemed to be speaking as their characters Lily and Ryle outside of character.
Lively expressed to Baldoni that she finds it more romantic when we dance and converse because it feels as though the moment of a kiss is the culmination of something they desire to witness.
As a die-hard fan, I can’t help but spill my thoughts: At 37, I find myself constantly gushing about how Ryan Reynolds, my real-life partner, and I simply never run out of things to say. We seem to be in an endless conversation, marveling at the fact that there just aren’t enough hours in a day for our chats!
“I think that’s cute,” Baldoni told her. “You guys are really cute.”
In the video supplied by Bryan Freedman, attorney for Baldoni, it appears that Lively and the actor were not staying in character as Lily and Ryle during the making of a slow dance scene intended for a silent montage in the film, instead speaking off-character.
Lively expressed to Baldoni that she finds it more romantic when we’re dancing and conversing because it’s as if, when you kiss, you’re giving them the moment they’ve been wanting to witness.
In a casual and conversational manner, one could rephrase it as: The 37-year-old mentioned that she and her actual husband, Ryan Reynolds, never seem to run out of things to say when they’re together and frequently find themselves wishing for more hours in the day to keep chatting.
“I think that’s cute,” Baldoni told her. “You guys are really cute.”
During the filming of an especially close dance scene, Lively joked as Baldoni moved near her neck, “I might be giving you some spray tan here.
The Jane the Virgin actor replied with a laugh, “It smells good.”
As a lifestyle expert, I might put it this way in the first person: During our movie’s romantic slow dance scene, my costar allegedly moved closer and lingeringly kissed my ear before tracing his lips along my neck, according to a lawsuit he faced afterwards.
In her statement, she expressed her concern that the actions of Mr. Baldoni were out of character and unscripted. Specifically, he was kissing Mr. Lively in a manner unrelated to their roles. Later, when Ms. Lively voiced her objection, Mr. Baldoni responded by saying, “I’m not even attracted to you.
Baldoni refuted Lively’s claim in his counterclaim by labeling it as a “deliberately concocted falsehood.
Instead, he claimed she was repeatedly unable to follow instructions during the making of the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s book. Baldoni, who also took on the role of director, alleged that Lively and her husband Reynolds seized control over It Ends With Us, retaliating against him when “her ill-timed promotions failed.
Essentially, this dispute isn’t just about famous people arguing through the media. Instead, it’s about two highly influential celebrities misusing their immense influence to seize a movie directly from its director and production company.
On her side, Lively’s team has strongly refuted Baldoni’s counterclaim, stating that he is attempting to change the storyline.
A woman presents solid proof of sexual harassment and retaliation, and instead of admitting wrongdoing, the accused tries to shift blame onto the victim. This tactic is often referred to as DARVO – Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. (Lively’s lawyers explained this in a statement to TopMob News on January 16.)
For a complete timeline of Lively and Baldoni’s legal battle, keep reading.
Four months following the cinema release of Colleen Hoover’s book adaptation “It Ends With Us”, Blake Lively submitted a complaint to 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, 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 initiated a coordinated press and digital strategy in retaliation for expressing concerns about on-set misconduct—stating that she, along with other cast and crew members, “encountered invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional, and sexually inappropriate behavior” by Baldoni and Heath.
She further asserted that the alleged campaign against her led to “significant damage” to her personally and professionally. The charges detailed in the complaint include sexual harassment; retaliation; failure 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 following day, The New York Times released an exposé detailing a suspected counterattack smear operation orchestrated by Baldoni and his allies against Lively—referencing her CRD complaint as evidence. In their report, the newspaper shared messages exchanged between Baldoni, Abel (his publicist), Nathan (crisis communications expert) and others, all implicated in her complaint. Additionally, readers had access to the court documents on The New York Times‘s website. Lively expressed hope that her lawsuit would unveil these underhanded tactics intended to discredit those who expose misconduct, thereby safeguarding future victims.
Following Lively’s accusations becoming public, Bryan Freedman – legal representative for Baldoni, Wayfarer, and their associates – strongly disputed her claims. He stated on the New York Times website:
“It’s regrettable that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such grave and undeniably false allegations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and their representatives, in a desperate attempt to salvage her tarnished reputation from the negative opinions generated by her own remarks and actions during the film’s campaign; public interviews and media activities that were visible and unedited, enabling the internet to form its own views and opinions. These assertions are entirely false, excessively sensational, and intentionally malicious with the purpose of causing harm and perpetuating a narrative in the media.”
He also justified Wayfarer’s decision to engage a crisis manager before the movie’s promotional campaign. Later, he explained:
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios took no proactive measures nor retaliated. They only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure accurate and balanced reporting and monitored social activity. What is significantly absent from the selectively presented correspondence is evidence that there were no active measures taken with the media or otherwise; just internal strategy sessions and private communications, which is standard practice among public relations professionals.
After an article in The New York Times published on December 21, William Morris Endeavor (WME) ended their association with Baldoni. Ari Emanuel, CEO of the agency’s parent company Endeavor, confirmed this to the outlet. However, WME disputes claims by Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband and a client of theirs, that he was responsible for Baldoni’s departure from the agency. In his lawsuit against The New York Times, Baldoni later alleged this. To clarify, in Baldoni’s filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This allegation is false, as stated by WME to The Hollywood Reporter on January 1. They added that Baldoni’s former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere, and there was no pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any point to drop Baldoni as a client.
After Blake Lively’s CRD filing and a New York Times article, various notable figures expressed their support for her allegations against Baldoni. For instance, author Colleen Hoover showed her backing through an Instagram post on December 21, praising Lively for her honesty, kindness, patience, and unchanging nature.
Similarly, actress Jenny Slate, who portrayed the sister of Baldoni’s character Ryle, expressed her support for Lively in a statement to Today on December 23. She voiced solidarity with Lively as she took action against those accused of damaging her reputation and acknowledged Lively’s leadership, loyalty, and emotional support to many people.
Brandon Sklenar, who played a love interest for Lively’s character Lily Bloom, shared a link to the complaint published on The New York Times’ website and encouraged others to read it. Lastly, Lively’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn wrote that they stand with her in solidarity.
Liz Plank recently informed her followers on Instagram that she is no longer co-hosting “The Man Enough Podcast”. She expressed gratitude for the trust and shared stories of the listeners, stating that she will miss them dearly. Although she did not specify the reason for her departure, it occurred following Blake Lively’s complaint against Eduardo Baldoni and his associates at Wayfarer. Plank emphasized her continued commitment to the values they built together and expressed hope for a better future. She promised to share more updates as she processes recent events and vowed to continue supporting those who challenge injustice and hold accountable those standing in their way.
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 a months-long conspiracy to attack Jones and breach contracts. The lawsuit claims that Abel and Nathan orchestrated a smear campaign against one of Baldoni’s film co-stars, used it as an opportunity to damage Jones’s relationship with Baldoni, and falsely blamed Jones for the campaign when she had no involvement. Abel, who worked at Jonesworks until last summer according to her LinkedIn profile, is alleged to have continued to falsely implicate Jones as the culprit behind her own misconduct comes to light, defaming and attacking her in the industry. The lawsuit also alleges that Baldoni and Wayfarer, who are no longer Jonesworks clients, breached their contractual obligations with Jonesworks and refused to settle the dispute privately. TopMob News reached out to the defendants for comment.
In a statement made to Variety on December 23rd, Lively’s lawyers revealed they acquired 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 stated that none of his clients were served with a subpoena regarding this matter. He also expressed his intention to sue Jones for disclosing messages from Abel’s phone to Lively’s legal team 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 making false claims, invading privacy, breach of contract, and promissory fraud, related to an article about a supposed retaliatory smear campaign the plaintiffs are said to have 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. They deny the accusations and allege that messages cited in the article and complaint were taken out of context. The lawsuit states, “Despite its claim to have ‘reviewed these along with other documents,’ the Times relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed 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 claim. The New York Times has stated that they intend 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 meticulously 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 that very day, I took the bold step to file a legal action against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Heath, Sarowitz, It Ends With Us Movie LLC, Nathan, his company TAG, and Abel right here in New York. As per the court documents I’ve managed to get my hands on from TopMob News, I’m accusing these defendants of sexual harassment, retaliation, neglecting to investigate, prevent, or remedy such harassment, aiding and abetting harassment and retaliation, breach of contract, intentionally causing emotional distress, negligently inflicting emotional distress, and invading my privacy through false light.
The specifics of these allegations were initially disclosed in the CRD complaint I submitted earlier that month. In response to this lawsuit, Baldoni and his associates have counterattacked against The New York Times – a publication that doesn’t even list me as a defendant. My lawyers have issued a statement to TopMob, clarifying that “this lawsuit does not alter the validity of any claims made in my CRD and federal complaints.”
They further explained that the premise behind this Wayfarer lawsuit – that my administrative complaint against them was merely a ruse to avoid suing Baldoni, and that litigation was never my ultimate goal – is utterly false. As evidenced by the federal complaint I filed today, this framing of the Wayfarer lawsuit is completely unfounded.
In their legal action against The New York Times, Baldoni and his colleagues have made it clear that they have more battles to fight. According to court papers, there are other wrongdoers implicated, and this is not the final lawsuit they intend to file. During a January 2 interview with NBC News, Baldoni’s attorney Freedman confirmed their plans to take legal action against Lively as well.
The chatter surrounding Baldoni and Lively hasn’t ended yet. For example, some social media users suspect that Reynolds joked about Baldoni in his movie Deadpool & Wolverine through the character Nicepool.
Reynolds has not addressed these rumors publicly; however, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman has expressed his thoughts on the matter. During an interview on The Megyn Kelly Show (available on YouTube as of Jan 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. You take action by filing HR complaints, raising the issue, and following due process. What you don’t do is trivialize the person and make a joke out of it.
In a statement issued on January 7, Lively’s legal team explained that their lawsuit against Wayfarer and its associates in the Southern District of New York is based on substantial evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation. They clarified that this isn’t a disagreement arising from creative differences or a he-said-she-said situation, as alleged by Wayfarer. Instead, they claimed that Wayfarer has been engaging in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Lively for standing up for herself and others on the film set. Furthermore, her lawyers said that since the filing of the lawsuit, there have been more attacks against Lively.
Lively’s legal team stated that their lawsuit in the Southern District of New York is about serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation by Wayfarer and its associates on a film set. They emphasized that this isn’t a dispute over creative differences, but rather an ongoing pattern of illegal retaliation against Lively for speaking up against harassment. They also highlighted that since the lawsuit was filed, there have been additional attacks against Lively.
They went on to remind everyone that sexual harassment and retaliation are always illegal in any workplace or industry. They warned against common tactics used to deflect allegations of misconduct, such as blaming the victim or suggesting they invited it, or reversing the roles of the offender and victim. The lawyers said these tactics serve to minimize and trivialize serious misconduct allegations. Lastly, they asserted that media statements are not a defense against Lively’s claims and that they will continue to pursue her case in court.
On January 16th, Baldoni, Heath, Wayfarer, publicist Abel, crisis communication specialist Nathan, and It Ends With Us Movie LLC filed a lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, Leslie Sloane (her publicist), and Vision PR in New York. The complaint alleges that all defendants are guilty of civil extortion, defamation, and invasion of privacy under false pretenses. Specifically, Lively and Reynolds have been accused of breaching the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs deny Lively’s claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign against her. Instead, they accuse her of taking control of It Ends With Us and working with Reynolds, Sloane, Jones, and others to tarnish the plaintiffs’ reputation in the media after she faced criticism for promoting the film. However, Lively asserts that she followed Sony’s marketing plan when promoting the movie.
In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim that the defendants colluded with “The New York Times” to release a sensational yet false news story. The outlet maintains its report is accurate.
In response 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 “a continuation in the strategy often used by abusers,” stating to TopMob News, “This scenario repeats itself: A woman presents substantial evidence of sexual harassment and reprisal, and the offender tries to shift blame onto the accuser. This tactic is known among experts as DARVO – Deny allegations, Attack the accuser, Reverse Victim and Offender.
She also claimed that he responded negatively after she brought accusations towards him, stating that Baldoni aims to change the focus of the situation, implying that Lively took control creatively and estranged the cast from Mr. Baldoni.
…”It’ll be clear,” it went on, “that the cast, among others, encountered unfavorable interactions with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. Furthermore, the evidence will demonstrate that Sony tasked Ms. Lively to supervise their portion of the film, which they subsequently chose for distribution and proved to be a huge hit.
Her team went on to slam Baldoni’s reaction to her allegations of harassment.
In summary, their defense against sexual harassment allegations involves blaming the victim for her own mistreatment, citing her attire as a cause. However, their tactic of shifting blame to the woman does not absolve them from the evidence presented in Ms. Lively’s complaint and is ultimately doomed to failure. The focus on attacking the victim while the abuse persists is both despicable and ill-advised.
In a recent move, Baldoni’s legal representative shared unseen footage from the set of “It Ends With Us“, stating that the depicted actions of the actor directly contradict Ms. Lively’s portrayal of him.
According to Baldoni’s lawyers, the particular sequence was intended to portray the two characters developing feelings for each other and yearning to be near one another. Notably, both actors are convincingly demonstrating their roles in a manner that adheres to the script and is guided by mutual respect and professionalism.
Nonetheless, Lively’s legal representatives argue that the video aligns precisely with what Miss Lively claimed in her lawsuit, asserting that each scene was spontaneously created by Mr. Baldoni without any prior consultation or approval.
The video depicts Ms. Lively pulling back and insisting multiple times that the characters should simply converse, as reported to TopMob News in a statement. A similar sense of unease may resonate with any woman who has experienced unwanted advances at work.
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2025-01-22 05:18