Director Justin Baldoni has filed a lawsuit against his It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for defamation and extortion, as this bitter legal feud following the release of the dark romantic drama continues.
Baldoni, who directed the movie, and production company Wayfarer Studios, filed this suit in federal court in New York, seeking at least $400 million for damages, including lost future income.
The director is alleging that Lively and Reynolds hijacked the film's production and marketing, as well as manipulated the media to ruin his name and others on the production, with false allegations of sexual and other harassment.
Two weeks prior, Lively had sued Baldoni and other associates of the film, claiming that they had retaliated against her for speaking out about her treatment on the set.
Lively made claims of sexual harassment against Baldoni and others, including claiming that for the movie's birthing scene, she was "mostly nude", as non essential people were present, including the financier.
Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds. Photo credit: Shutterstock
In the latest lawsuit filed in federal court, Justin Baldoni has strenuously denied these allegations.
"This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio," the suit says.
"Then, when Lively and Reynolds' efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat".
"Heartbreakingly, a film that Baldoni envisioned years ago would honour the survivors of domestic violence by telling their story, with the lofty goal of making a positive impact in the world, has now been overshadowed beyond recognition solely as a result of Lively’s actions and cruelty", the suit added. "Lively was so close and comfortable with Baldoni that she freely breastfed in front of him during meetings".
The suit also claimed that moments which Lively now labels sexual harassment and misconduct, she had previously encouraged.
Rejecting these claims, Blake Lively's legal team have called the new lawsuit "another chapter in the abuser playbook".
"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," they said in a statement.
"This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender".
Justin Baldoni was ultimately dropped by his agency WME, who also represent Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
Baldoni also claimed that Reynolds was responsible for this, alleging that the actor had approached a WME executive and "expressed his deep disdain for Baldoni, suggesting the agency was working with a 'sexual predator’".
The suit adds: "Lively knew full well that making those allegations would be a career death sentence for Plaintiffs, especially given that Baldoni has lived his private and public life as an impassioned advocate for gender equality and healthy masculinity".
However, Lively's lawyers have insisted that the evidence would show that other members of the film cast have had similar experiences with Baldoni.
"In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim," her lawyers said. "The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms Lively’s complaint, and it will fail".
In a statement, Bryan Freedman who is Baldoni's lawyer, said that "this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret".
The aftermath of this fallout has made huge waves in Hollywood, leading to fresh debates about how female actors are treated on movie sets and in the media.
