Neither Blake Lively nor Justin Baldoni want to admit defeat in their ongoing legal battle. The It Ends With Us co-stars continue to blame each other for what happened during the movie’s production. The director recently accused the actress of staging a “takeover strategy” while she slammed him for sexual harassment and more.ย
After Baldoni claimed Lively attempted to twist the narrative in her favor, the entertainer’s reps doubled down on their claims. They argued that his lawsuit was a typical scheme used by abusers to paint sexual harassment victims as the villains. “This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” the actress’s legal team claimed.
Lively’s reps accused Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, of using every means possible to manipulate the public. They claimed the duo attempted to stop fans from seeing their lawsuit as “retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.” The Gossip Girl star’s team further bashed the actor’s “takeover” claims, saying:
“They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni.”
Lively’s reps noted they had evidence proving the cast suffered “negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer.” They also had proof that showed Sony asked the actress to oversee their cut of the movie. The scathing statement obtained by TMZ continued by trashing Baldoni’s lawsuit as victim shaming, noting:
“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.”
Justin Baldoni Files $400 Million Lawsuit Against Blake Lively
Lively’s response comes a day after We covered Baldoni’s $400 million countersuit. He named the actress, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist, Leslie Sloane, as defendants in the federal suit. The Jane the Virgin actor slammed the trio, especially Lively and her PR, for ruining his image with false allegations.
According to Baldoni, his issues with Lively began in 2023 because she wanted creative control over the movie. Despite being the director, he was ambushed by a sudden meeting in her NYC penthouse over a rewrite. He recalled she changed a key scene from the movie that her husband and Taylor Swift had approved.
Baldoni felt he had to accept Lively’s rewrite, especially when they ganged up on him. He shared evidence of their text exchange, where she dropped a Game of Thrones reference to applaud his agreement. The battle for control continued with the actress wanting a flashy and sexy wardrobe for her struggling character.
Although Baldoni accepted most of her demands, he claimed she threatened to torpedo the movie unless her version was released. The drama intensified when Lively and her PR launched a smear campaign to paint him as the abuser. He argued they did so to deflect her bad publicity after fans labeled her “tone deaf” during the movie’s promotion.
Who will emerge victorious in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s legal drama?
