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The ongoing saga between Lively and Baldoni came to light in December, when Lively first filed a civil rights complaint claiming that Baldoni had sexually harassed her.
Justin Baldoni claimed Ryan Reynolds ‘aggressively scolded’ him. (Photo courtesy: Instagram)
Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alleging the Hollywood pair tried to “ruin” him and his career after hijacking his film “It End’s With Us.” .
Baldoni’s complaint is the latest addition to an ongoing legal battle stemming from the film that Baldoni directed and co-starred in with Lively.
“This is not a case of celebrities taking digs at each other in the press. “This is a case of two of the most powerful stars in the world using their enormous power to wrest an entire film out of the hands of its director and production studio,” the lawsuit says.
“As one of the most famous celebrities in the world, Lively wields immense power,” the lawsuit continues, alleging that Lively “used that power to gain control of the film ,” which was directed by Baldoni, and produced and co-financed by Baldoni’s Productions. Company. “If the plaintiffs did not bow to his persistent demands he was determined to destroy their livelihoods and businesses, and when they refused to give way, he did exactly that, accusing them of dishonesty and blatant sexual misconduct.” “Applied.”
The 179-page complaint – in which Baldoni is seeking $400 million and demanding a jury trial – is filed in the Southern District of New York on behalf of Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios, as well as his producing partner, Jamie Heath, at his peril. Was filed. manager, Melissa Nathan, her publicist Jennifer Abel and It End’s With Us LLC. The defendants are accused of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.
The lawsuit states, “Stole Wayfarer’s film, hijacked Wayfarer’s premiere, destroyed Plaintiff’s personal and professional reputation and livelihood, and aimed to drive Plaintiff out of business entirely.”
The ongoing saga between Lively and Baldoni came to light in December, when Lively first filed a civil rights complaint claiming that Baldoni had sexually harassed her during the production of the film and then speaking out about his alleged misconduct. Retaliatory action was taken. Baldoni immediately denied Lively’s claims.
Lively ultimately moved forward with her civil rights complaint, officially filing suit against Baldoni a few weeks ago.
Lively alleged that after she was sexually harassed with inappropriate comments and behavior on set, Baldoni’s team launched a smear campaign against her to ruin her reputation in the public sphere. Lively’s complaint included hundreds of text messages between Baldoni and his crisis PR team, including one text that said they could “bury” her.
Baldoni’s new lawsuit offers a very different approach, accusing Lively of actually defaming Baldoni.
Baldoni’s lawsuit states, “Although Lively claimed that Baldoni was the one who smeared her, the reality is that it was Lively and her team who sought to deflect attention and blame for Lively’s disastrous misjudgments. Carefully planned and executed against Baldoni and the Wayfarer.” By portraying Baldoni and Wayfarer as her persecutors, Lively reinvented herself as a long-suffering martyr: the mastermind behind a smear campaign that would show evidence did not exist.”
The public legal battle has exposed the inner workings of the teams behind the Hollywood stars with multiple lawsuits, all of which have accused publicists on both sides of wrongdoing.
The complaint filed Thursday also names Lively and Reynolds as defendants, as well as Lively and Reynolds’ publicist, Leslie Sloan.
Sloan did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on behalf of herself or her clients, Lively and Reynolds.
Baldoni’s team said Lively’s lawsuit “cherry picked” text messages that only told her side of the story.
After Lively filed her initial complaint, Baldoni sued The New York Times for $250 million, accusing the newspaper – which first reported on Lively’s allegations – of colluding with Lively’s team to publish a one-sided article. Worked for, which Lively benefited from and was manipulated. Proof. Baldoni’s lawsuit against the publication included more text messages that appeared to show additional context.
The New York Times has denied Baldoni’s allegations and said it stands by its reporting.
Brian Friedman, the attorney representing Baldoni and all of the plaintiffs, told CNN in a statement Thursday that he has “a massive amount of doctored evidence” that proves Lively, Reynolds and their team “heavily edited” the broadcast. Attempted to destroy Baldoni and his team. Unverified, new and manipulated information to the media.”
“Justin and his team have nothing to hide, the documents don’t lie,” Friedman said. ,
creative differences
“It End’s With Us” explores intimate partner violence. The central couple is played by Baldoni and Lively. The film, based on the best-selling book of the same name, grossed over $350 million globally at the box office.
“Heartbreakingly, the film that Baldoni envisioned years ago that would honor survivors of domestic violence by telling their stories with the lofty goal of making a positive impact in the world is now being overshadowed only by Lively’s actions and cruelty. As a result it has become beyond recognition. ,” his suit says.
Baldoni’s lawsuit claims that Lively tried to take over most of the creative direction of the film, including having her husband, Reynolds, rewrite a scene and “secretly making unauthorized changes to the script”. . (Reynolds had no formal role in “It Ends With Us.”)
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in “It End’s With Us” – Nicole Rivelli/Sony Pictures
The lawsuit claims that Lively “summoned” Baldoni to the penthouse she shared with Reynolds in New York City for a meeting about the script, where Reynolds, accompanied by a “megacelebrity friend” of the couple, discussed Lively’s ideas about the script. Appreciated the proposed amendments.
“As the meeting was ending, a famous and well-known close friend of Reynolds and Lively came into the room and began praising Lively’s script,” the lawsuit says. Baldoni understood the subtext: he needed to follow Lively’s instructions. script.”
One of the text messages included in Baldoni’s suit shows a conversation between Baldoni and Lively about the script: “I really like what you did. It really helps a lot. Makes it more fun and interesting. (And I would feel the same way without Ryan and Taylor),” she wrote with a wink emoji. ”You really are a talent across the board. Really excited and grateful to be able to do this together.”
While Baldoni’s text message does not include the last name “Taylor,” Lively is a close friend of artist Taylor Swift. CNN has contacted representatives for Baldoni, Lively, Reynolds and Taylor Swift to learn if Baldoni mentioned “Taylor.” The text is really swift.
According to Baldoni’s lawsuit, a screenshot of a text message shows Lively responded to Baldoni, “This is so appreciated,” then wrote, “We’re in this together.” In the same text message, Lively later wrote, “I have no purpose other than you winning. As an actor. As a studio. As a writer. If you win, I will win. If you win then our film wins. We are united. And I’ll bring everything I have to it.”
CNN has not independently verified any of the text messages included in Baldoni or Lively’s lawsuits.
The new lawsuit also claims that Reynolds once “sworn at Baldoni and accused him of making his wife look fat” at the couple’s New York home. Baldoni denied the allegation in his lawsuit, saying that he inquired about Lively’s weight from his trainer so that he could prepare. For a scene in which he had to lift her while working despite a back injury.
Baldoni’s latest lawsuit brings Reynolds – one of Hollywood’s highest-paid A-list stars – into legal drama. Reynolds has been mentioned in Baldoni’s previous filings, but has now been officially named as a defendant, accused of aiding his wife in taking over the film and ruining Baldoni’s career.
After Lively’s initial complaint accused Baldoni of sexual harassment, Baldoni was dropped as a client by WME, the talent agency that also represents Lively and Reynolds. Baldoni’s lawsuit accuses Reynolds of encouraging WME to fire Baldoni, which the agency denies.
In the wake of Lively’s lawsuit, Baldoni was also stripped of an award from a women’s organization. Baldoni’s public image has become intertwined with feminism – the actor and filmmaker hosted a TED talk and a podcast about redefining masculinity.
- Place :
Los Angeles, United States of America (USA)
