Justin Baldoni Set to File Suit Against Blake Lively in ‘It Ends with Us’ Battle
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Justin Baldoni is planning to sue his “It Ends with Us” co-star Blake Lively, his lawyer Bryan Freedman tells NBC News.
The decision comes after Blake filed a legal complaint with the California Civil Rights Department claiming Baldoni sexually harassed her on set. At the time, she stated, “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
After The New York Times ran a story about the case and her claim that she was the victim of a smear campaign, Baldoni filed a $250-million lawsuit against the paper for libel.
The Times released a statement saying, “We plan to vigorously defend against the lawsuit.”
Blake responded by filing a lawsuit against Baldoni and his PR team for sexual harassment and “unconscionable” retaliation.
When NBC News asked Freedman if Baldoni planned to sue Lively, the attorney replied, “Absolutely… yes.”
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As for whether there was a coordinated smear campaign against Blake, Freedman said, “One hundred percent no,” adding that Justin has said from the get-go, “I don’t want to do anything negative toward her. I don’t want to hurt her.”
Many text messages have been made public in the previous complaint and lawsuits. Freedman told NBC News, “I am more than willing to take every single text message that exists out there, lay them out, put them on a website for the world to see, have them see the truth and determine the truth for themselves.”
As for the sexual harassment claims, he said, “I think there are some behaviors always that can make people uncomfortable, and I don’t think anybody has the intention to do that. The question really in this case is, does it rise to the level of sexual harassment?”
According to People magazine, Baldoni’s lawsuit will be filed soon, and the plaintiffs will be Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, his publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan. Those named in the lawsuit will include Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Justin’s former publicist Stephanie Jones.
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Blake did not comment on the NBC News interview, but previously responded via her attorneys to Justin’s New York Times lawsuit with a statement that read, “Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today. This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice ‘not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ and that ‘litigation was never her ultimate goal.’ As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false. While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.”
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