Justin Baldoni has filed a counter-suit against his “It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively on Thursday. He claims that the couple have hijacked and destroyed his career and livelihood.
The lawsuit also names Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane and her company Vision PR Inc. Baldoni had previously filed a separate lawsuit for defamation against The New York Times which was the first to report Lively’s allegations of sexual misconduct against Baldoni while filming took place. Baldoni’s lawsuit, a 179-page complaint, was filed in the Southern District New York. It accuses Lively, Reynolds, and their publicist, Leslie Sloane, of civil extortion and defamation, as well as invasion of privacy.
Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and Jamey Heath are also listed as plaintiffs. They are seeking damages of at least $400,000,000.
Bryan Freedman is an attorney for Baldoni. He told CBS News that the lawsuit details the alleged evidence Lively distributed “grossly re-edited, unsubstantiated and new information to the media.”
Freedman stated that “it is clear from our own willingness to provide complete text messages and emails, as well as video footage and other documentation evidence, which was shared in real-time between the parties, that she will lose this battle and regret it.”
Lively made allegations of sexual harassment in December against Baldoni. Baldoni also directed and cofinanced the film adaptation of Colleen Hover’s 2016 novel, which explores domestic abuse and emotional abuse.
The New York Times reported that Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni and Heath, as well as Wayfarer Studios. She and Reynolds had discussed alleged “repeated harassment and other troubling behavior” of Baldoni and another producer on the film. After the meeting, the studio and Baldoni “set in motion a “multi-tiered scheme” to harm her reputation.”
The New York Times reported that Lively’s suit included texts sent by Baldoni publicist Jennifer Abel to crisis PR specialist Melissa Nathan. Both are named plaintiffs in Baldoni’s lawsuit. The texts said the actor wanted to “feel like she could be buried” and “We can’t say we’ll destroy her.”
In his countersuit, Baldoni claimed that Stephanie Jones, his former publicist at Jonesworks, was “filled of impotent anger” towards him and Abel. Abel left Jonesworks and formed her own company to work for Baldoni.
Baldoni’s suit alleges that Jones, Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane conspired to seize Abel’s phone, “mine for messages which, stripped of their context, could then be used to create a false story” in order to give the impression that Baldoni is behind the negative press coverage, and reactions by public to Lively.
Lively has left the plaintiffs with no choice but to sue, as she “has unambiguously left them with no option, not only to correct the record in response to Lively’s accusations but also to bring the spotlight to the parts of Hollywood they have dedicated themselves to being the opposite of.”
Sloane’s PR firm, which represents Lively and Reynolds as well, did not respond to an email asking for comment.
Both actors are represented by WME. Baldoni was dropped as a client when Lively filed her legal complaint, which led to the lawsuit. The Times also published a story about the dispute surrounding the film.
Hollywood has been awash with the surprise hit movie. Discussions have erupted about how female actors are treated on set and in the media.
