Blake Lively files second lawsuit against Justin Baldoni after he sues The New York Times
Blake Lively has filed a second lawsuit against Justin Baldoni for “severe emotional distress” after he filed a bombshell $A402m lawsuit over a story about her sexual harassment allegations.
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Blake Lively has filed a second lawsuit against Justin Baldoni.
The actress, 37, is suing her It Ends With Us co-star and director, alleging he caused her to suffer “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration and mental anguish” in addition to lost wages. TMZ was first to report the news.
Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni, 41, and others on Tuesday in a New York federal court. It Ends with Us, the blockbuster movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, was filmed primarily in New York.
Lively is seeking punitive damages at “an amount to be determined at trial.”
Lawyers for Lively provided a statement to The Post following news of the actress’ latest lawsuit.
“Earlier today, Ms. Lively filed a federal complaint against Wayfarer Studios and others in the Southern District of New York,” the statement began, referring to the studio that produced “It Ends With 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.”
The star’s lawyers continued, “Unfortunately, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks. 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’s reps also referred The Post to a statement the actress gave on December 21 after she filed her first complaint.
“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,” Lively said.
The Post has reached out to reps for Baldoni for comment.
It comes after Baldoni filed a bombshell $250 million ($A402m) lawsuit against the New York Times after they published a story about his It Ends With Us co-star Lively’s sexual harassment allegations.
According to Variety, the actor filed the 87-page complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday after the Times published their We Can Bury Anyone”: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine article on December 21.
The filing lists 10 plaintiffs, including his publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan, who accuse the outlet of “libel and false light invasion of privacy”.
It Ends With Us producers Steve Sarowitz and Jamey Heath alleges the Times “cherry-picked and altered communications” without providing “necessary context”.
The lawsuit also accuses the outlet of “promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract” and argued against Lively’s claims written in their story, per Variety.
“The Times story relied almost entirely on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motives,” the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit also points out that Lively, 37, filed a sexual harassment complaint against Wayfarer Studios on December 21 rather than a lawsuit, which the plaintiffs’ filing alleges was “a choice that spared her from the scrutiny of the discovery process, including answering questions under oath and producing her communications.
“This decision was no accident,” the lawsuit claims.
The Gossip Girl alum also filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, 40, on Tuesday, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages.
The Times responded to Baldoni’s lawsuit in a statement to Page Six on Tuesday, writing: “The role of an independent news organisation is to follow the facts where they lead.
“Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article.
“To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error. We published their full statement in response to the allegations in the article as well. We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Reps for Lively, meanwhile, told Page Six that they “look forward” to addressing Baldoni’s allegations in court.
“Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today,” Lively’s rep told Page Six.
“This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice ‘not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ and that ‘litigation was never her ultimate goal’.”
Earlier this month, Lively shared a statement with the Times after filing her sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni.
“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.
Lively and Baldoni worked together on the film adaption of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel about domestic violence from 2023 to early 2024.
Per the filing obtained by Page Six, the A Simple Favor star claimed a meeting was held to discuss Baldoni’s behaviour on set.
In the meeting – which was also attended by Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds – Baldoni was allegedly warned to stop talking about his porn addiction and showing the actress “nude videos or images of women”.
The movie producer was also allegedly told not to discuss the “cast and crew’s genitalia”, Lively’s weight or her late father. Baldoni was also allegedly prohibited from adding more sex scenes to the film.
The Jane the Virgin star and Lively notably worked with intimacy coordinators on set to ensure they could “all feel safe”.
According to the complaint, Lively also accused her co-star of coordinating a smear campaign to ruin her reputation.
Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios’ lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the allegations put forth by the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants star, referring to them as “serious and categorically false”.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” he told Page Six.
Freedman also claimed that his client was forced to hire a crisis manager because of Lively’s “multiple demands and threats”, which allegedly included threatening to not return to set or promote the film “if her demands were not met”.
When It Ends With Us was released in August, sources told Page Six Baldoni allegedly made the mom of four feel “uncomfortable” on set.
Lively reportedly felt insecure about her figure and thought Baldoni, who had previously experienced a back injury, “fat-shamed” her when he asked how much she weighed so he could prepare to lift her for a scene.
Lively, however, came under fire when promoting the film and was criticised for her approach to questions about the movie’s theme of domestic violence.
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