Blake Lively has officially filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, her costar and director in the film It Ends With Us.
Lively, 37, launched legal proceedings against Baldoni, 40, in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, December 31, Us Weekly can confirm. In addition to Baldoni, the actress is also suing publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, along with Wayfarer Studios.
The lawsuit alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages. The claims parallel those made in Lively’s complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department last week.
“Earlier today, Ms. Lively filed a federal complaint against Wayfarer Studios and others in the Southern District of New York,” Lively’s attorneys said in a statement to Us. “Ms. Lively previously sent her California Civil Rights Department Complaint in response to the retaliatory campaign Wayfarer launched against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Unfortunately, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks.”
Justin Baldoni’s Lawyer Says Blake Lively Countersuit Will ‘Shock Everyone’
The statement continued: “As alleged in Ms. Lively’s federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court. Ms. Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the Complaint took place, but we reserve the right to pursue further action in other venues and jurisdictions as appropriate under the law.”
Lively spoke out about her legal action via a Saturday, December 21 statement to Us Weekly.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” she said.
The lawsuit comes the same day Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times for its reporting on Blake Lively’s sexual harassment accusations.
Baldoni was among 10 plaintiffs, also including publicists Nathan and Abel as well as It Ends With Us producers James Heath and Steve Saraowitz, in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, December 31 in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The plaintiffs are suing for libel and false light invasion of privacy and allege that The New York Times “cherry-picked” communications and omitted context in order to mislead readers in its article “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.”
The piece, written by Megan Twohey, Mike McIntire and Julie Tate alleged Lively faced months of sexual harassment from Baldoni and was published Saturday, December 21.
The lawsuit alleges Lively pursued a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign against Baldoni (rather than the other way around), using false “sexual harassment allegations to assert unilateral control over every aspect of the production.”
Following the lawsuit’s filing, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman called Lively’s accusations published by the New York Times a “vicious smear campaign.”
Blake Lively Sues It Ends With Us’ Justin Baldoni for Sexual Harassment
“In this vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times cowered to the wants and whims of two powerful “untouchable” Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics once befitting of the revered publication by using doctored and manipulated texts and intentionally omitting texts which dispute their chosen PR narrative,” he said via a statement to Us on Tuesday, December 31. “In doing so, they pre-determined the outcome of their story, and aided and abetted their own devastating PR smear campaign designed to revitalize Lively’s self-induced floundering public image and counter the organic groundswell of criticism amongst the online public. The irony is rich.”
He continued: “Make no mistake however, as we all unite to take down The NY Times by no longer allowing them to deceive the public, we will continue this campaign of authenticity by also suing those individuals who have abused their power to try and destroy the lives of my clients. While their side embraces partial truths, we embrace the full truth – and have all of the communications to back it. The public will decide for themselves as they did when this first began.”
Baldoni has previously categorically denied all of Lively’s allegations through Freedman, who called the accusations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious” in a statement to Us. The statement also claimed that Lively filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” about the movie’s production.
