Justin Baldoni claims Ryan Reynolds berated him in ‘aggressive’ confrontation over Blake Lively
Justin Baldoni claims Ryan Reynolds “berated” him for his Blake Lively “fat-shaming” comments, in $400m lawsuit.
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Justin Baldoni has dragged Ryan Reynolds into his $400million libel lawsuit against the New York Times.
In Tuesday’s filing, the It Ends With Us actor and director accused the Deadpool star of “berating” him for “fat-shaming” Blake Lively.
Baldoni, 40, claimed the clash took place at the couple’s New York City penthouse while his and Lively’s movie was in production last year.
“The confrontation that followed was so aggressive that Baldoni felt compelled to offer repeated apologies,” the lawsuit alleged.
The Jane the Virgin star went on to state that he “continued to bend to [Lively’s] will” to “rebuild rapport” and avoid further conflicts.
Page Six has reached out to Reynolds’ rep for comment.
The alleged body-shaming incident took place when Baldoni asked a trainer about Lively’s weight prior to filming an It Ends With Us scene with a lift.
Despite rehearsing “with a stunt double,” the Gossip Girl star reportedly “refused to perform” the sequence in question.
Lively, 37, referenced the controversy when she filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni last month.
In addition to allegations that the Man Enough podcast co-host and his PR team engaged in a smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation, the actress claimed he had found “back channel ways of criticising her body and her weight.”
Lively went on to allege that Baldoni recommended an expert to help her when she came down with strep throat, only to find out the person was actually a weight-loss guru.
Page Six reported when the romantic drama premiered in August — as headlines swirled about a possible feud between the pair — that the filmmaker had made the A Simple Favour star “uncomfortable” on set.
Baldoni denied Lively’s allegations in a December statement — and again Tuesday when she filed a formal lawsuit for emotional distress and lost wages.
When the Wayfarer Entertainment co-founder and nine other plaintiffs, including his publicists, filed their libel lawsuit that same day, the Age of Adaline star’s rep told Page Six that the legal action did not “change anything about [her] claims.”
As for the New York Times, the newspaper stood by its “meticulously and responsibly reported” story about Lively’s initial complaint and vowed to “vigorously defend against [Tuesday’s] lawsuit.”
Lively and Baldoni’s It Ends With Us co-stars have recently come out in support of the actress, from Brandon Sklenar to Jenny Slate.
Meanwhile, Colleen Hoover, the author of the book that the film was based on, called Lively “honest and kind” via Instagram.
Reynolds, who has yet to speak out publicly about the scandal, wed the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants star in September 2012, and they have since welcomed four children.
Baldoni, for his part, shares two kids with wife Emily Baldoni, who has similarly remained mum about the legal battle.
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Justin Baldoni claims Ryan Reynolds berated him in ‘aggressive’ confrontation over Blake Lively
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