Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have filed competing lawsuits that escalate their fight over what happened on the set of their movie, It Ends With Us.
Lively filed a lawsuit in New York on Tuesday against the actor and his publicity team, alleging sexual harassment on the film’s set and a scheme to “destroy” his reputation.
Baldoni, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit against The New York Times, which first reported Lively’s legal complaint, accusing the journalists of damaging her reputation by working with the actress and suppressing evidence. Ignoring those who contradict their claims.
The newspaper has denied their allegations and said their original story was “thoroughly and responsibly reported”.
Lively’s legal case includes many of the same allegations that surfaced in her civil rights complaint, which is often a precursor to a lawsuit, that was filed in December in California.
She seeks compensatory damages, including money for “lost wages” and “mental pain and suffering.” She does not specify the monetary amount.
In its own lawsuit against The New York Times, First reported by variety, Baldoni claimed malfeasance and fraud, accused journalists of working with the actress to “damage” her reputation, and called her team to respond to the “bombshell story”. Not giving time.
Baloney’s lawsuit alleges that the Times relied on “cherry-picked” and communications that were “taken out of necessary context and intentionally misled.”
In a statement released to American media The Times said His report was “based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails that we refer to accurately and at length in the article”.
He added that Baldoni “didn’t point to a single mistake”.
Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency after the claims were published in the newspaper. His suit calls for a jury trial and $250m (£199m) in damages.
Brian Friedman, the actor’s lawyer, told CBS News that the newspaper “aided and abetted” “a smear campaign designed to tarnish Lively’s … public image.”
Baldoni’s lawsuit includes many of the same text messages and communications listed by Lively, who accused her team of running a social media campaign to sway public opinion against her.
In her lawsuit, Lively accused Baldoni and her team of attacking her public image after a meeting to address “repeated sexual harassment and other troubling behavior.”
At the meeting, he is said to have made 30 demands related to alleged misconduct to ensure he could continue production of the film, including not revealing genitalia on set and any intimacy beyond. including not including scenes that Lively had previously approved;
Lively’s legal team further accused Baldoni and his film studio Wayfarer of leading a “multi-tiered plan” to destroy his reputation, including manipulating social media and pushing certain statements. The use of friendly journalists was included.
Baldoni’s lawyers previously told the BBC that Lively’s allegations were “blatantly false” and said they had hired a crisis manager because Lively had threatened to leave unless his demands were met. Doing so will derail the film.
BBC News has contacted Lively, Baldoni and representatives of The New York Times for further comment.
It Ends With Us was released last summer, and sees Lively play a woman with a charming but abusive boyfriend, played by Baldoni.
The film is based on the best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover. The 45-year-old author has said that her inspiration was the domestic abuse her mother endured.