‘This Is Us’ actor and director releases new texts
With the two stars of It Ends With Us in the midst of a legal war, the film’s director and co-lead Justin Baldoni has launched a new website aimed at Blake Lively.
In December, Lively, 37, accused Baldoni, 40, of sexual harassment on the set of the movie and claimed he tried to damage her reputation as part of a smear campaign following a meeting in which she and her husband Ryan Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” by the Jane the Virgin star and producers on the movie.
Baldoni’s plan, Lively’s complaint said, included a proposal to plant rumours on online message boards, engineer a social media campaign and orchestrate news stories critical of the actress. The complaint also accused Baldoni of using “domestic violence ‘survivor content’ to protect his public image.”
Baldoni denied Lively’s claims and last month his team released footage from the scene in question saying, “Both actors are clearly behaving well within the scope of the scene and with mutual respect and professionalism.”
The dueling claims have divided fans of the two stars of the Colleen Hoover book adaptation.
After Lively’s suit was filed, Baldoni announced he was suing both her and Reynolds and the Times for defamation and extortion.
The suit filed in federal court in New York last month by Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios seeks at least $400 million for damages that include lost future income.
“This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio,” the suit says, according to the Associated Press. “Then, when Lively and Reynolds’ efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat.”
The website includes links to Baldoni’s amended complaint and a 168-page “timeline of relevant events.”
In another alleged exchange from February 2023, Reynolds allegedly texted Baldoni: “I’m excited for you to work together. I’m excited for Blake to crack open her creative piggy bank with someone as dynamic as you. This is gonna be INCREDIBLE. … I happen to adore you, Justin.”
On Monday, Judge Lewis J. Liman declined to rein in Freedman but threatened to move the trial up if reps for both sides continue to try and litigate the case in the court of public opinion.
Afterwards, both claimants tried to declare victory.
“Our clients are devastated and want to move the case along as quickly as possible,” Freedman said. “We just couldn’t be more pleased with how the case was handled today, how it was managed. We’re going to move as quickly as we possibly can and prove our innocence, in a world where sometimes people judge you before they give you a chance. And we’re going to change that.”
Meanwhile, Lively and Ryan Reynolds‘ attorney Michael Gottlieb said he was “very happy” with Liman’s ruling.