Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have been sued for defamation. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
It ends with us -film’s legal battles have gotten new rounds.
Now director and actor Justin Baldoni has sued actor Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds for defamation. Baldoni is demanding $400 million in damages from the married couple.
In December, Lively sued Baldon for sexual harassment on the set of the film. According to Lively, Baldoni and other men in the production had repeatedly violated physical boundaries and made sexual, inappropriate comments to her. Baldoni has denied the claims.
In addition, Lively claims that Baldoni started a smear campaign against her.
It ends with us -film was released last August. Baldoni and Lively star in the film’s main roles. In addition, Baldoni is the director of the film and Lively is listed as its producer.
The film deals with intimate partner violence. It became an instant hit, grossing over $350 million in theaters.
“This is an ancient story”
According to Justin Baldoni, he has been deliberately smeared. LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo
Now Baldoni claims that Lively and Reynolds developed a plan whose goal was to “destroy her career and smear her with false accusations of sexual harassment.”
Daily Mail -lehti has obtained exclusive possession of the legal papers in which Baldoni accuses the married couple of hijacking the direction of the film from him.
Lively’s lawyers have commented to the Daily Mail about the charge brought by Baldon.
– This latest lawsuit is just another chapter in the abuser’s playbook, Lively’s lawyers say.
– This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up and presents concrete evidence of sexual harassment and her retaliation, and the abuser tries to turn the tables on the victim.
Baldon’s lawyer Bryan Freedman condemns Lively’s “disgustingly false sexual allegations”.
New York Times published an extensive article in December discussing the tensions between the actors. The article was published after Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldon.
Baldon is now demanding $250 million in defamation from the New York Times.
Baldoni accuses the newspaper of collaborating with Lively’s team. According to him, the New York Times published a one-sided article that benefited Lively and contained falsified evidence of the allegations.
The New York Times has denied Baldoni’s claims and said it stands by its report.