Justin Baldoni replied back to the sexual harassment allegations by his ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively by filing a defamation lawsuit against the stemmed news organisation The New York Times. Justin Baldoni has claimed that the newspaper organisation has published an article that is full of misinterpretations, inaccuracies, and omissions, and he described the article as his co-star Blake Lively’s biased account.
With California’s Civil Rights Department, Blake Lively filed a complaint against Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment in December. In the complaint, Blake Lively stated that even after she raised concerns related to sexual harassment on the sets of her movie ‘It Ends With Us,’ Justin Baldoni and his team retaliated against her and also spread negative stories about her to damage her career.
Article Published by The New York Times
The New York Times was the first news organisation to reveal these accusations. The news organisation published an article titled “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” This article included the details from Blake Lively’s complaint. These types of complaints are confidential and cannot be exposed. As a consequence of this published article, Justin Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency, WME, which also represents Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
After this, Blake Lively received strong support from Hollywood’s actors union, SAG-AFTRA; they released a statement to establish their support for her. Sony, the studio behind her movie ‘It Ends With Us,’ also released a statement to support Blake Lively.
Justin Baldoni is alleging that Blake Lively has made false sexual harassment accusations so that she can take over the control of the movie and improve her public image following a series of personal controversies. Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit accuses Blake Lively of using sensational claims to harm the actor’s reputation.
Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit stated that, “Blake’s abuse of sexual harassment allegations to assert control over every aspect of the production was both manipulative and strategic. Her reputation suffered as a consequence of a series of high-profile blunders. This is nothing but an excuse.”
Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit states that the New York Times failed to maintain their credibility by not properly investigating Blake Lively’s allegations of sexual harassment. The lawsuit accuses the New York Times of relying entirely on Blake Lively’s unverified account, copying her claims, and ignoring the evidence that contradicted her claims.
Blake Lively’s attorney responded to the lawsuit, stating that it will not change any of her claims. They also revealed that her initial complaint against Baldoni and his Wayfarer production company was filed with California's Civil Rights Department. It was also stated that on Tuesday a new federal complaint was submitted.
Blake Lively's complaint included screenshots of text messages and emails to show how Justin Baldoni’s PR representatives tried to damage her reputation as a part of a “social manipulation campaign.” Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit disputes these claims and also provides various text messages that his attorney Bryan Freedman argues prove that Blake Lively’s evidence was manipulated. Baldoni’s lawsuit accuses the New York Times of deliberately leaving out texts that contradict the claims of Lively.
One of the most serious allegations was that Baldoni, along with his producing partner Jamey Heath, entered Lively’s makeup room uninvited while she was breastfeeding and undressed. In defence of this accusation, Baldoni’s lawsuit replied with a text that was from Lively, inviting Justin into her makeup room to rehearse lines while she was pumping.
After Blake Lively’s complaint, the controversy escalated with both sides accusing each other of leaking their private conversations.