Trigger warning: This article contains mention of sexual assault.
Justin Baldoni has sued It End’s With Us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for $400 million defamation. The actor’s lawyers filed it in the Southern District of New York on January 16 on behalf of Baldoni, producer Jamie Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and Crisis publicist Melissa Nathan.
Some of the claims in the lawsuit are based on civil extortion, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of implied fair dealing and intentional interference with contractual relations.
In a statement released by the Five Feet Apart director’s attorney, Brian Friedman, he claimed that the lawsuit is a legal action supported by a large amount of tampered evidence against Lively and her team. Friedman argued that the Green Lantern actress allegedly used “heavily edited” and doctored information to prove the claims in her lawsuit against Baldoni.
Friedman expressed his team’s willingness to provide video footage and documentaries, as well as the entire text and email chain, as evidence against the actress. “This is a fight she will not win and will certainly regret,” the statement said. It said, “Blake Lively was either seriously misled by her team or knowingly and knowingly misrepresented the truth.”
The statement further claimed that Lively and her team tried to tarnish the reputation and livelihood of people to serve their selfish objectives and allegedly manipulated the media to prove themselves right.
Hoping to uncover the truth, Friedman declared that “Justin and his team have nothing to hide; the documents don’t lie.” The news comes about ten days after the lawyer teased that Baldoni would “definitely” sue Lively for harming his reputation.
The actress had filed a lawsuit against her film co-star and director with claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory defamation campaign carried out by him and other crew members. She also accused Baldoni of allegedly misbehaving on the sets of her film.
If you need support or you know someone who is struggling with domestic violence or assault or abuse, please contact your nearest mental health expert, NGO or talk to someone about it. There are many helplines available for this.
