Blake Lively files legal complaint against Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively says “It Ends with Us” co-star Justin Baldoni sexually harassed her and tried to destroy her reputation in a California legal filing.
Blake Lively has formally filed a lawsuit against her “It Ends With Us” co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment.
The lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY, was filed Tuesday in New York federal court and comes weeks after the “Gossip Girl” alum filed a headline-generating complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni, which surfaced Dec. 21. It follows rumors of a summer-long feud between the pair on the set of the buzzy film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestseller.
The lawsuit mirrors Lively’s earlier claims laid out in her complaint, which allege that Baldoni — along with Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath — engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct in and out of the workplace.
Wayfarer, Baldoni’s production company, is also named in the complaint and official suit.
Lively’s formal lawsuit was filed on New Year’s Eve, the same day Baldoni filed his own lawsuit against The New York Times for libel after the news organization published Lively’s smear campaign accusations.
Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni for ’emotional distress and pain’
The lawsuit filed Tuesday also claims that “as a direct, foreseeable, and proximate result of this unlawful discriminatory conduct” by Baldoni and others named, Lively “suffered, and continues to suffer, substantial damages.”
The damages listed include but are not limited to “severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration, and mental anguish,” and Lively “is entitled to an award of punitive damages, in an amount to be determined at trial.”
Justin Baldoni sues The New York Times for libel on New Year’s Eve
According to court documents obtained by USA TODAY, Baldoni’s $250 million lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and he’s among a group of 10 plaintiffs also including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel and “It Ends With Us” producers Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz.
They are suing the newspaper for libel and false light invasion of privacy over the article outlining Lively’s accusations.
Lively, 37, alleges Baldoni, 40, showed her videos and images of nude women, discussed his past pornography addiction, detailed his sexual experiences, described his genitalia, improvised kisses on camera, spoke to Lively’s personal trainer about her weight, entered her trailer while she was naked, added sex scenes to the film’s script and subjected her to personal and sexual comments.
The complaint also alleges Baldoni colluded with his PR team to plant negative stories about Lively after she came forward about his alleged behavior in a coordinated effort to “destroy” her career.
Her lawyers also accuse Baldoni of initiating unwanted discussions with her about past sexual encounters in which he didn’t seek consent from his partners.
Blake Lively’s legal team addresses Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit
On Tuesday, Lively’s legal team addressed Baldoni’s lawsuit in a statement to USA TODAY. “Nothing” in Baldoni’s lawsuit “changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint,” her legal team said.
“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,’ ” the statement said. “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.”
‘It Ends With Us’ alleged feud, explained
In the wake of the allegations levied by Lively, Baldoni lost his podcast co-host Liz Plank, who quit in an open letter to listeners, and was stripped of a domestic and sexual violence prevention advocacy award given to him by global non-profit organization Vital Voices.
The controversy surrounding “It Ends With Us” is a swift change for Baldoni, who built a career promoting his progressive views on masculinity after he became a breakout star on the Emmy-nominated CW dramedy “Jane the Virgin,” which aired from 2014 to 2019.
“It Ends With Us” follows a flower shop owner named Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), who falls in love with Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), a dashing neurosurgeon, and reconnects with her stoic childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan (Brandon Sklenar).
Fan speculation surrounding the drama between Baldoni and Lively derailed the film’s August media tour, but the movie was still a hit for Sony, grossing $148 million at the North American box office.
Contributing: Pamela Avila and Edward Segarra