Justin Baldoni Sues Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds For Defamation, Extortion

Topline

Justin Baldoni, star and director of “It Ends With Us,” sued his co-star Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane in New York federal court Thursday, accusing them of defamation and extortion—weeks after Lively filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni in a sprawling legal battle between the film’s stars.

Key Facts

How Did Lively’s Lawyers Respond?

Lively’s legal team slammed it as “another chapter in the abuser playbook” in a statement shared with Forbes, adding: “This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.” Lively’s legal team said Baldoni’s lawsuit “falsely [claims] that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni,” alleging “evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer” and that “Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony’s cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success.”

What Has Baldoni’s Lawyer Said?

Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, who has previously threatened to sue Lively “into oblivion,” said the lawsuit is “based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media,” in a statement shared with Forbes. “Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth. Ms. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit actual victims of real harassment solely for her personal reputation gain at the expense of those without power,” accusing Lively of attempting to “bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action.”

How Does Baldoni Accuse Lively Of Taking Over The Film?

In his lawsuit, Baldoni accuses Lively of usurping his control over “It Ends With Us” by making contributions to the script, wardrobe and editing, citing various texts and emails sent between himself, Lively, producers and editors on the film and Sony executives. Baldoni alleges Lively asked him if she could “take a pass” at writing a scene that takes place on a rooftop, which he alleges “dramatically differed from what had been written originally.” Baldoni says Lively had discussed the scene at a meeting at her New York penthouse, in which Reynolds and an unnamed “famous, and famously close” friend of Lively’s praised her version of the scene. Baldoni had told Lively the scene would likely end up being a mix of her version and the original script and praised her “passion,” which Lively said “didn’t feel great,” according to texts shared in the lawsuit. Lively later said in an interview during “It Ends With Us” press that Reynolds had written the rooftop scene, which Baldoni alleges “raised eyebrows” at Sony, citing emails from an unnamed Sony legal affairs officer who said they “certainly need some clarity” on Reynolds’ contributions. The suit also alleges “Lively began altering the script daily,” citing texts from an unnamed producer who said, “Blake is now directing the movie,” and, “This is bad.” Baldoni cites texts from Lively requesting access to “dailies”—raw footage from shooting—which the suit calls an “inappropriate and unorthodox” request. The suit cites additional texts from Heath and an unnamed producer who object to Lively being given access to dailies. Baldoni also alleged Lively requested access to the editing process and requested her own cut of the film, a right the suit states is “exclusively reserved for directors,” and alleged “Sony told Wayfarer in no uncertain terms that Lively refused to promote the Film unless her demands were met.” Baldoni also accused Lively of demanding “with extortionate threats” that Baldoni request Lively be given a “p.g.a.” mark on the film, reserved for producers that have done the most producing work on a film. Baldoni’s lawsuit includes a letter he and Heath sent to the producers’ guild requesting a p.g.a. mark for Lively, but also cited an email Heath sent to Wayfarer lawyers in June claiming he and Baldoni requested Lively’s p.g.a. mark because they felt “trapped,” alleging Lively “continues to hold a threat over our heads” and took the movie “unjustly from Justin as a director.”

How Does Baldoni Refute Lively’s Allegations?

Baldoni refuted allegations Lively made in her lawsuit that he “fat shamed” her on set, claiming he had reached out to Lively’s trainer to “ask what Lively weighed so that he could train his back muscles in preparation for a lift scene.” Lively previously alleged Baldoni called her trainer and “implied that he wanted her to lose weight in two weeks.” The lawsuit includes texts from the trainer sharing an exercise routine for Baldoni. Baldoni also claimed that despite Lively’s claim the film ignored union recommendations that an intimacy coordinator be present during the beginning of the production, “an intimacy coordinator had already been engaged during the first half of the production,” alleging Lively had “refused to meet with the intimacy coordinator to plan out their scenes.”

Does Baldoni Mention Taylor Swift In His Lawsuit?

Although the lawsuit makes no explicit references to Taylor Swift, Baldoni’s lawsuit describes a meeting he had with Lively and Reynolds about Lively’s alterations to the rooftop scene in which a “famous, and famously close, friend of Reynolds and Lively, walked into the room,” whom Baldoni appears to refer to in a text included in the lawsuit as “Taylor.” In these texts, shared between Baldoni and Lively, Baldoni says he “really love[s]

” Lively’s additions, adding he “would have felt that way without Ryan and Taylor.” In response, Lively calls Reynolds and her famous friend her “most trusted partners” and her “dragons” who protect her. Baldoni’s suit refers to Reynolds and Lively’s friend as “two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.” Lively and Swift’s friendship is well documented, as the two are often photographed together, and Swift is the godmother to Lively and Reynolds’ children. Forbes has reached out to representatives for Swift for comment.

What Has Lively Alleged Against Baldoni?

Lively filed a civil rights complaint against Baldoni last month, a week later filing a lawsuit in New York federal court accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, creating a hostile work environment on set and orchestrating a smear campaign against her. Baldoni denies the allegations in his newly filed lawsuit. Lively alleged Baldoni had improvised unwanted kisses while filming, made comments about her weight and cited texts between Nathan and Abel that allegedly depict them attempting to smear Lively in the press. Among these texts is a message from Nathan to Abel, referencing a piece about Lively being “canceled” in the Daily Mail, in which Nathan states: “That’s why you hired me right? I’m the best,” although Baldoni’s lawsuit states this exchange omits an upside-down smiley face emoji that Nathan had used to express a “sarcastic tone.” Lively said the alleged smear campaign was conducted in retaliation to her “exercising her legally-protected right to speak up” about misconduct on set.

Further Reading

The Entire Justin Baldoni Vs. Blake Lively Feud Explained: Baldoni Sues Lively For Defamation, Extortion (Forbes)

Here Are Baldoni’s Key Allegations Against Lively: He Claims She Lied About Sexual Harassment In New Lawsuit (Forbes)

Here’s What Blake Lively Alleges Against ‘It Ends With Us’ Actor-Director Justin Baldoni (Forbes)