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In a statement, Blake Lively’s lawyers described Justin Baldoni’s legal move as a strategic attempt to silence her after she raised allegations of sexual harassment.
Justin Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit. (Photo Credits: Instagram)
Blake Lively’s legal team has responded to the recent $400 million lawsuit filed by her It Ends With Us co-actor and director Justin Baldoni. In a statement, Lively’s lawyers described Baldoni’s legal move as a strategic attempt to silence her after she raised allegations of sexual harassment.
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook,” the statement read.
The legal team mentioned that Baldoni’s actions were an attempt to deflect from the harassment allegations. “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,” the statement continued.
They also criticised Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios for using their wealth and resources to attack her, stating, “Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.”
Lively’s legal team further claimed that Baldoni and his associates were attempting to shift the narrative by falsely accusing her of taking creative control and alienating the cast.
“The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer. The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony’s cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success,” the statement added.
The team further mentioned that Baldoni’s response to the allegations is to blame Lively, suggesting that she “wanted it, it’s her fault.”
“Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail,” the statement concluded.
Earlier on Thursday, Baldoni filed a lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, seeking $400 million in damages. The lawsuit, which includes claims from Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios and his associates, accuses the defendants of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.
In his complaint, Baldoni accused Lively of using “a famous, and famously close, friend,” alluded to as Taylor Swift and Reynolds, to influence him into accepting changes to the film’s script. He claims he was invited to the couple’s New York City penthouse where Swift and Reynolds allegedly praised Lively’s rewrites for a key scene between their characters. After the meeting, Baldoni reportedly texted Lively to say he was impressed with the changes, stating, “I really love what you did. It really does help a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt that way without Ryan or Taylor).”
Baldoni also argued that Lively overstepped her boundaries by “inserting herself into the production process in intrusive ways well beyond the scope of her contractual entitlement.”
Further, Baldoni responded to the sexual harassment allegations that Lively filed in December 2024. He denied discussing his past porn addiction with her stating that Lively initiated the conversation by mentioning she had never watched explicit videos, prompting him to share his experiences.
He also denied walking into Lively’s trailer while she was breastfeeding, claiming that she openly breastfed during meetings.
Baldoni further claimed that Lively made derogatory comments about his appearance, allegedly suggesting he should get a nose job.
He also pointed to a meeting with Reynolds where he “demanded that Baldoni apologise to Lively for actions that had either never happened or had been grossly mischaracterised.” According to Baldoni, the meeting left a Sony representative “in shock” and the unnamed woman later admitted she regretted not stepping in.
The legal conflict between Baldoni and Lively began in December 2024 when Lively filed a lawsuit against him and his team. In her complaint, she accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and claimed he led a smear campaign against her in retaliation for her allegations.