Justin Baldoni ‘sues co-star Blake Lively for $400m’ and claims she made him ‘real-life villain in her story’
JUSTIN Baldoni has accused Blake Lively of trying to make him the “villain” in a brand new lawsuit, continuing the bitter legal feud between the two former co-stars.
Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, is seeking $400 million in damages from Lively and her publicist Leslie Sloane.
Wayfarer Studios produced It Ends With Us, the romantic drama that Baldoni wrote and directed.
The film’s behind-the-scenes tension sparked months of speculation about drama between the two leading stars until Lively filed a lawsuit accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment last month.
Lively accused Baldoni and his team of orchestrating a smear campaign to ruin her reputation – but Baldoni has now flipped the tables in a new federal lawsuit.
Baldoni is accusing Lively and Sloane of creating an alleged campaign to smear the actor, according to court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun.
The docs claim Lively set out to make Baldoni the “real-life villain in her story.”
Baldoni accused Lively and Sloane of scheming against him to deflect from the actress being seen as “tone-deaf” during the press tour for the movie.
The actor said his co-star promoted her hair care and alcohol lines while doing press for the movie, which is about domestic violence.
In the suit, Baldoni said he and Lively started battling for creative control over the movie once they started shooting in May 2023. He included emails from the time to prove his point.
Baldoni claimed Lively organized a “takeover strategy” so she could have the final word in the movie, which is based on the book by Colleen Hoover.
He also called out Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds and close friend Taylor Swift for getting involved in the project.
He said he was ambushed by the two A-listers when they praised Lively’s decisions regarding a re-write of an important scene in the movie.
Baldoni also claimed Lively forced the director and his family to miss the film’s premiere in August when she demanded he didn’t attend.
He said security at the premiere escorted Baldoni’s group to the theater’s basement.
Baldoni also claimed Lively didn’t read Hoover’s book when they were working on the script together.
Statement from Justin Baldoni's lawyer
Bryan Freedman, who represents Justin Baldoni, shared the following statement about the new lawsuit with The U.S. Sun.
“This lawsuit is a legal action 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,” Freedman claimed.
“It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret.
“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.
“Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action.
“We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.”
The document said Blake “even tried to Google the color of her character’s hair rather than pick up the book.”
He said the two stars also argued over Lively’s character’s wardrobe, further pointing to the actress’ “takeover” of the movie.
Bryan Freedman, the lawyer representing Baldoni, said in a statement to The U.S. Sun that the lawsuit is “based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence.”
“It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret,” Freedman said.
BLAKE’S SIDE OF THE STORY
Meanwhile, Lively claimed in a lawsuit that Baldoni fat-shamed her, showed her nude videos and pictures, and spoke about a previous alleged porn addiction while on set.
She also claimed to have asked for “no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing outside the scope of the script approved when signing onto the project.”
The actress said Baldoni’s actions caused her and her family “severe emotional distress.”
Baldoni has denied all of Lively’s accusations.
He sued the New York Times for $250 million over the paper’s article alleging he coordinated a smear campaign against Lively.
The actor hired Freedman, who also represents the Menendez brothers’ family, after Lively filed her lawsuit against him.
Lively hasn’t responded to Baldoni’s latest lawsuit.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.