Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively.
Gotham Images/GC; RCF/Megaafter Justin Baldoni I fired back against And it ends with us com. costar Blake Lively With a lawsuit worth $400 million, legal experts explain how the amount will likely be chosen.
Months later Speculation of a rift was rife between And it ends with us Baldoni, 40, filed a lawsuit against Lively, 37, and her husband, Ryan Reynoldsas well as her publicist Leslie Sloan on January 16. The submission came one month later New York Times It was announced that Lively had sued Baldoni for sexual harassment, which he has since denied. (Baldoni and other plaintiffs also filed a lawsuit New York Times In a separate lawsuit in December 2024.)
When it comes to crunching numbers, Joseph A. Brown Esq said exclusively Us Weekly That Baldoni and his companies “will seek damages for lost funds and potential future profits lost due to the actions of Blake, Ryan and their teams.”
“These numbers are based on total economic losses from the box office, future wage losses for the sequel, and future losses to other endeavors,” Brown said.
Justin Baldoni's studio has filed a new lawsuit against It Ends With Us star Blake Lively and her publicist Leslie Sloan, demanding $400 million in damages. According to the profile obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, January 16, Lively, 37, was “determined to make Baldoni the true villain of her story” to avoid[…]
Baldoni's legal team is “very focused on the case,” Brown said now“It's a major factor in this smear campaign,” based on the high dollar amount “they're asking of them.”
“The $400 million lawsuit against Blake, Ryan, and their teams will seek damages from all of them,” Brown explained.
David J. FinklerEsq. However, the Law Offices of David J. Finkler, PC, has a different view, claiming it may be more about public perception. “In federal court in New York, the only requirement to plead is that damages exceed $75,000,” he told us. “If a lawyer chooses to sue for more, it will be for ‘shock value’ only.”
Finkler noted that “there is no explanation” at this point. “It's basically a random number in the hope that it will shock the plaintiff,” the lawyer said. “He has no specific support at this early stage of the litigation. It is just another allegation related to the counterclaim.
Blake Lively's legal team has responded to the new It Ends With Us video released by Justin Baldoni's lawyer. “Justin Baldoni and his lawyers may hope that this latest stunt will outweigh the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is devastating. Every frame of the footage released confirms[…]
Amid the legal battle between the couple, Baldoni's lawyer, Brian Friedmanfootage from the set was released And it ends with us In an attempt to refute Lively's side of the story. The footage we obtained on Tuesday, January 21, began with a statement that read: “Mrs. Lively's complaint alleges that during a scene in which Mr. Baldoni and Ms. Lively were filming a slow dance montage, Mr. Baldoni behaved inappropriately. The following videos taken on May 23, 2023 clearly refute Ms. Lively's characterization of his behavior. The scene in question is designed to show the two characters falling in love and longing for closeness to each other. It is clear that both actors conduct themselves well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism. These are the three shots that were filmed for the sequence.
The dance scene shows footage discussed in their lawsuits — including the moment Baldoni claimed in court documents that Lively asked him to get a nose job and the pair discussed the smell of her spray tan.
After the video was published, Friedman said in a statement to: we: “we I received this video from Legal Counsel Brian Friedman who has gone on record multiple times telling the public that Justin Baldoni and his team have nothing to hide and this video proves that once again. Justin and his team have the right to defend themselves with the truth and that is what we will continue to show through an upcoming website containing all correspondence as well as related videos directly rebutting their claims.
Lively's legal team then criticized Baldoni and his team for making that choice Share raw footage publicly.
Blake Lively has responded through her legal team to Justin Baldoni's studio, which has filed a new lawsuit against her, her publicist Leslie Sloan, and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The lawsuit, obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, January 16, seeks $400 million in damages and accuses Lively, 37, of being “determined to make Baldoni the real villain (…)
“Justin Baldoni and his attorney may be hoping this latest stunt will outweigh the damaging evidence against him, but the video itself is devastating. “Every frame of the footage released confirms, by letter, what Ms. Lively described in paragraph 48 of her complaint,” Lively's legal team said in a statement. Us on Tuesday: “The video shows Mr. Baldoni repeatedly leaning toward Ms. Lively, trying to kiss her, kissing her forehead, rubbing his face and mouth on her neck, and making passes. He thumbed her lip, caressed her, told her how good she smelled, and talked to her out of character.”
The statement continued: “Every moment of this was improvised by Mr. Baldoni without any prior discussion or approval and without the presence of the intimacy coordinator. Mr. Baldoni was not only Ms. Lively's representative, but also Ms. Lively's director, studio head, and boss. The video shows Ms. Lively leaning away and repeatedly telling the characters to just talk. Any woman who has been touched inappropriately in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively's discomfort. They will recognize her attempts at sarcasm to try to deflect unwanted touching. No woman should take defensive measures to avoid being touched by her employer without her consent.
“This matter is in active litigation in federal court,” the letter concluded. Releasing this video to the media, rather than submitting it as evidence in court, is another example of an unethical attempt to manipulate the public. It is also a continuation of their campaign of revenge and harassment. While they focus on misleading media narratives, we focus on the legal process. We are continuing our efforts to demand that Mr. Baldoni and his associates respond in court, under oath, and not through manufactured media stunts.
we She also confirmed that Lively and Reynolds, 48, File a letter in court On Tuesday, he called on Friedman to stop engaging in “inappropriate behavior” such as an alleged “harassing and retaliatory media campaign” against the couple. The letter claimed that Lively had previously issued a cease and desist letter to Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios and a second letter to Friedman in December 2024. we She reached out to Lively and Baldoni's representatives at the time.
