Blake Lively on Tuesday formally filed a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, her It Ends With Us co-star, for sexual harassment and retaliation, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Lively, 37, initially registered a complaint against Baldoni with the California Department of Civil Rights on December 21, accusing Baldoni (who also directed the film) of sexual harassment while working on the drama.
She also alleged that after raising concerns, he, along with his crisis PR team, organized a retaliation campaign aimed at destroying her career.
Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment in a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday, December 31. (Getty Images)
Lively's federal lawsuit was launched Tuesday shortly after Baldoni filed his own lawsuit $250 million defamation suit Against the New York Times, which he claimed published an article “full of inaccuracies, distortions and omissions.”
“Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything regarding the allegations made in Ms. Lively's California Department of Civil Rights complaint, nor her federal complaint filed earlier today,” Lively's representatives told Fox News Digital.
Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni last December after rumors of a dispute on the set of It Ends With Us. (Getty Images)
“This lawsuit is based on the patently false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a sham based on a choice ‘not to sue Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ and that ‘litigation was never its ultimate goal.’” As the complaint states According to the federal filing that Ms. Lively filed earlier today, this frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is incorrect, and while we will not litigate this matter in the press, we encourage people to read Ms. “We look forward to fully addressing all of Wayfarer's claims in court.”
the “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” actress. She alleged in her federal filing that Baldoni, the film production company Wayfarer Studios, and a handful of associates were involved in a “carefully crafted, coordinated and resourced retaliation scheme to silence her and others from speaking out.”
Lively alleged that Baldoni, along with a crisis public relations firm, formulated a “multi-level plan” to destroy her reputation after she (along with her husband, Ryan Reynolds) addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Baldoni and producer Jimmy Heath. Whoever is named in the lawsuit).
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively are seen on the set of It Ends with Us on January 12, 2024. (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
She also alleged that Baldoni and Heath “discussed their personal sexual experiences and past addiction to pornography” on set, according to the documents.
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Representatives for Baldoni did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. He previously told The Times that Lively's initial allegations were “completely false, outrageous and intentionally vulgar with the intent to publicly hurt and reshape the narrative in the media.”
Baldoni filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times after they published a story titled “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside the Hollywood Smear Machine,” which stated that private emails and text messages show “the playbook for waging a largely undetectable smear.” “. Campaign in the Digital Age” about Lively.
However, Baldoni and other plaintiffs, including Hollywood public relations experts, contend that the Times article “intentionally omitted portions of text messages exchanged and other information that conflicted with the actress's version of events.” They claim the Times defamed them in the process, leaving out critical context from communications that contradict many of Lively's claims.
Baldoni not only starred in the film adaptation of the novel, but also directed the film. (Getty Images)
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“The article’s central thesis, wrapped in a defamatory headline designed to immediately mislead the reader, is that plaintiffs orchestrated a retaliatory public relations campaign against Lively for speaking out about sexual harassment — a premise that is categorically false and easily refuted.” Page of the lawsuit, filed by attorney Brian Friedman in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Friedman He told Variety That the Times “subjected to the desires and whims of two powerful, 'untouchable' Hollywood elites,” ignoring journalistic practices and ethics that once befitted the venerable publication by using manipulated and manipulated texts and deleting texts that conflicted with their chosen public relations narrative. “
“It is the role of an independent news organization to follow the facts wherever they lead. Our story was reported accurately and responsibly. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails, which we quote carefully and accurately. Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhodes-Ha said: “I spoke at length in the article.” Fox News Digital.
“We deployed them Full statement She continued, “In response to the allegations in the article as well. We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Fox News Digital's Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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