Blake Lively’s legal team has addressed Justin Baldoni’s countersuit, calling it an “age-old story.”
Hours after Baldoni filed a lawsuit against his It Ends with Us co-star, accusing her and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of attempting to “destroy” his career and reputation, Lively’s lawyers spoke out.
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim Offender,” Lively’s legal team told The Independent in a statement.
The Independent has contacted Baldoni’s lawyer for comment.
Baldoni, who also directed the 2024 Colleen Hoover adaptation, sued Lively and Reynolds for $400 million, accusing the couple of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.
The Jane the Virgin alum’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, added in a statement to The Independent: “This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.”
Freedman continued: “It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret. Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.
“Ms Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit actual victims of real harassment solely for her personal reputation gain at the expense of those without power. Let’s not forget, Ms Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.”
Baldoni’s countersuit comes weeks after Lively sued him, accusing him of sexual harassment and for organizing a “smear campaign” against her in the months that followed.
In the Gossip Girl actor’s legal filing, it was stated that there was a meeting attended by Lively, Reynolds, Baldoni and their lawyers, to address her claims.
Lively had a number of requirements in order for her to work on the film that included “no more inquiries about Blake’s weight,” as well as “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia.”
Baldoni has denied all of Lively’s allegations and has since sued the New York Times for libel over their reporting of Lively’s claims.
Meanwhile, his lawyer has additionally accused Reynolds of mocking Baldoni through the “Nicepool” character in his recent movie, Deadpool & Wolverine.
Baldoni has reportedly demanded that Disney keep hold of all documents that show the Deadpool and Wolverine character was created to “bully” him.
