We all knew a lawsuit from Justin Baldoni against Blake Lively was coming over what did or did not go down on It Ends With Us and the PR aftermath, and now it has – with a $400 million price tag attached.
“At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press,” says the defamation, extortion and four other claims complaint filed today in federal court in New York by the IEWU co-star and director, his Wayfarer Studios, PR team Melissa Nathan, Jennifer Abel and others against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, PR chief Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s VisionPR.
“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 179-page filing from attorney Bryan Freedman adds of franchise fave Reynolds and spouse Lively. “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. Tolerating a year and a half of their behavior while remaining polite and professional at every turn offered Badoni and Wayfarer no protection.”
Read Justin Baldoni’s $400M Defamation & Extortion Lawsuit Against Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds here
Having already sued the New York Times on New Year’s Eve for $250 million over its December 21 story about Lively’s December 20 sexual harassment and retaliation filing with the California Civil Rights Department, Baldoni and crew had Freedman send a widely accusing and somewhat self-pitying January 7 evidence preservation letter to Disney and Marvel over Deadpool & Wolverine. In both instances, the Wayfarer Studio founder is using the tactic of “what you say is what you are” in declaring that he and his people weren’t behind a smear campaign against Lively, she was behind one against him.
Now, in what may be a bridge too far in the minds of many, Baldoni and team have invoked the horrific wildfires that have devastated LA in their latest legal action.
“Lively moved forward with her plan with ruthless precision, doubling down in the face of abundant evidence casting doubt on the veracity of her story,” the new complaint says. Lively even went so far as to serve her lawsuit on the Los Angeles-based defendants as they evacuated their homes in the midst of devastating fires engulfing their city. On a day when Defendants were gathering their kids and pets, preparing ‘go bags’ and monitoring evacuation orders while fearing for their homes, Lively—from the safety of her penthouse in New York— deployed process servers in the midst of these troubling times.”
“Lively stole Wayfarer’s movie, hijacked Wayfarer’s premiere, destroyed Plaintiffs’ personal and professional reputations and livelihood, and aimed to drive Plaintiffs out of business entirely,” the heavily email and text message illustrated documents also exclaims.
Following up on her CRD complaint, Lively herself launched a formal sexual harassment and retaliation suit against Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studios, Nathan, Abel and others on December 31. There was no named sum in Lively’s suit, but among the various request for damages, it was pretty clear the Gossip Girl vet wants cash and Baldoni never to speak of her or Reynolds ever again.
Representatives for Lively, Reynolds, Sloane and the other defendants did not respond to request for comment on Baldoni’s new lawsuit. If they do, this post will be updated.
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