Justin Baldoni Studio Sues Blake Lively, Reynolds, Rep. for $400 million

Justin Baldoni‘s studio filed a new lawsuit against him It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively and its publisher, Leslie Sloane, seeking damages of $400 million.

According to the filing obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, January 16, Lively, 37, was “determined to make Baldoni a real-life villain in her story” to avoid her allegedly “tone-deaf” promotion of the film. Baldoni and other plaintiffs — his publishers Melissa Nathan a Jennifer Abel – claimed that Lively was promoting her hair care line and alcohol while in the middle of the media surrounding the film about domestic violence. (TMZ was the first to report the news.)

Baldoni claimed that the row between him and Lively started in May 2023 when the film started. He claimed that Lively created a “takeover strategy” as they battled for creative control.

TMZ reported that the documents contained emails between Baldoni and Lively before filming began, with Baldoni claiming “heartfelt gratitude” to Lively for the preparation but believing she would try to gain control.

Baldoni claimed that Lively had not read It Ends With Us. The lawsuit reads, “she even tried to Google her character’s hair color instead of picking up the book.”

Following the lawsuit, Baldoni’s lawyer said, Bryan Freedmanshared in a statement i Us“This lawsuit is legal action based on a large amount of unspoiled evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating new information and severely doctored, unproven for the media. “

The statement continued, “It is clear based on our own willingness to provide all the complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence shared between the parties in real time, that this is a fight that will not she wins it and will certainly regret it. Blake Lively was either seriously misled by her team or willfully and willfully misrepresented the truth.”

“Ms. Never again will Lively be allowed to continue to exploit genuine victims of harassment solely to gain her personal reputation at the expense of the powerless,” the statement read. “Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team ruined reputations and livelihoods for horribly selfish reasons by dangerously manipulating the media themselves before even taking any real legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents don’t lie.”

The “publishers affected by Lively” also released a lengthy statement on Thursday. “It is devastating that we are being forced to answer this vicious and selfish ongoing litigation full of documented and proven lies in the midst of the tragedy affecting California where we live,” we began them.

“Five months ago Ms. Lively promoted a film about domestic violence in a way that caused an immediate negative and organic backlash due to her very publicizing actions,” the statement continued. “Instead of accepting responsibility, she decided to blame us cruelly. This malicious attack on private individuals by Ms. Lively and her team where they chose to spoon feed the New York Times with doctored, out of context and edited text messages in an effort to paint herself as a victim set off a chain of events that has been damaging beyond measure.”

“To be clear, Ms. Lively and her team this smear campaign in the media with the sole intention of garnering undeserved public sympathy for her own misdeeds,” the statement read. “Over the past month we have received death threats, vile abuse and vile anti-semitic slurs hurled at us because of her decision to use us as scapegoats for her own choices in promoting her movie in which she made millions of dollars. With this filing, we are lifting our own curtain on what happens when the entitled wield power, fear and money to destroy, intimidate and bully those who violate their way.”

Us reached out to Lively’s rep, co-defendant Sloane, for comment.

Freedman previously confirmed on January 2 that Baldoni would sue Lively.

“Absolutely… yes,” Freedman told NBC News. “We intend to release every single text message between the two of them. We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their decision based on receipts.”

Baldoni, 40, previously filed a lawsuit against The New York Times for libel and false light disturbing privacy. The film’s director accused the newspaper of “picking” messages between him and Lively which omitted context to publish their report in his favour.

“In this vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team, the New York Times woven into the wishes and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites, disregarding journalistic practices and ethics that once befitted the revered publication by using manipulated and manipulated texts and deliberately omitting texts that’ n disagree with the PR narrative they chose,” Freedman told Us in a December 2024 statement. “In doing so, they pre-determined the outcome of their story, and aided and abetted their own destructive PR smear campaign designed to revive Lively’s self-indulgent public image and counter the organic ground of criticism among the online public. The irony is rich.”

He continued: “Make no mistake though, as we all unite to take down The NY Times by no longer allowing them to deceive the public, we will continue this campaign of authenticity by also suing those individuals who abused their power to try to destroy my clients’ lives. While their side embraces partial truths, we embrace the full truth – and we have all the communications to back it up. The public will decide for themselves as they did when this started.”

Both The Times and Lively denies the accusations.

“This lawsuit is based on those patently false premises Administrative complaint Ms. Lively against Wayfarer and others is a disgrace based on the choice not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, and litigation was never her ultimate goal,” Lively’s lawyer said in a separate statement.

Baldoni and Lively cost in 2024’s It Ends With Usplay lead couple Ryle and Lily. The film, based on Colleen Hoover‘ novel of the same name, chronicling their abusive relationship. After wrapping the production, rumors swirled about a possible feud between the two stars.

Neither Baldoni nor Lively addressed the situation, a source said Us there had been “two camps” on set (the duo did not squeeze together during the film’s promo cycle). Lively then sued Baldoni for sexual harassment last month.

According to Lively, Baldoni causing her “severe emotional distress”. and fostering a “hostile work environment” during production. She also claimed that Baldoni and his publicity team had launched a “social manipulation” campaign in an attempt to destroy her reputation.

Baldoni, through Freedman, vehemently denied the accusations at the time.