Justin Baldoni sues Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400M in new step in ‘It Ends With Us’ fight
Justin Baldoni sues Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400M in new step in ‘It Ends With Us’ fight
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “It Ends With Us” actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued his co-star Blake Lively and her husband, “Deadpool” actor Ryan Reynolds, for defamation and extortion on Thursday in the latest move in a bitter legal battle surrounding the dark romantic drama.
The suit filed in federal court in New York by Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios seeks at least $400 million for damages that include lost future income. It alleges that Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of “It Ends With Us” and manipulated media to smear Baldoni and others on the production with false allegations of sexual and other harassment.
“This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio,” the suit says. “Then, when Lively and Reynolds’ efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat.”
The lawsuit comes about two weeks after Lively sued Baldoni and several others tied to the film, alleging they retaliated against her for coming forward about her treatment on the set. That lawsuit came just hours after Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper worked with Lively to smear him.
An email sent to publicist Leslie Sloane — who is also named as a defendant — seeking comment was not immediately answered.
The Times said it stood by its reporting and planned to “vigorously defend” against the allegations.
“It Ends With Us,” based on the bestselling 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, was released in August and exceeded box office expectations with a $50 million debut. It begins as a standard romantic drama before taking a dark turn into domestic violence.
The film’s release was shrouded by speculation over discord between co-stars Lively and Baldoni, and the fallout has made make major waves in Hollywood and led to discussions of the treatment of female actors both on sets and in media.
“Heartbreakingly, a film that Baldoni envisioned years ago would honor the survivors of domestic violence by telling their story, with the lofty goal of making a positive impact in the world, has now been overshadowed beyond recognition solely as a result of Lively’s actions and cruelty,” the lawsuit says.
Allegations from Lively that she was shown pornography and subjected to unwanted discussions about it from Baldoni and a producer were utterly false, the suit alleges.
“Lively was so close and comfortable with Baldoni that she freely breast-fed in front of him during meetings,” the suit says.
She would later take moments like these that she encouraged and recast them as sexual harassment and misconduct from Baldoni, the lawsuit alleges.
It also says that counter to Lively’s allegations, every request she made for an intimacy coordinator to help with sensitive scenes on the film was honored. It focuses especially on a a birthing scene, saying Lively’s contention that she was “mostly nude” with non-essential people present including the film’s financier were “knowingly false.”
“Lively was wearing black briefs and a pregnancy suit that covered her midsection, and her top was covered by a hospital gown,” the suit says.
Baldoni says that at another point during the production, because he has back problems, he privately and politely asked Lively her weight so that he could work with his personal trainer to be able to safely lift her in the film.
Reynolds later “swore at Baldoni and accused him of fat-shaming his wife,” the suit says.
“In fact, Lively had earlier expressed insecurity about her postpartum figure, and Baldoni made every attempt to genuinely reassure her,” his lawsuit says.
Baldoni took a backseat in promoting the film while Lively took center stage along with Reynolds, who was on the press circuit for “Deadpool & Wolverine” at the same time.
Baldoni says the “tone-deaf” and “disastrous” moves from Lively that led to her attempt at a counter-narrative included naming a drink at the post-premiere party “Ryle You Wait,” after the character who engages in domestic violence.
The backlash against Baldoni led to his being dropped by his agency WME, which also represents both Lively and Reynolds,
The suit alleges Reynolds was responsible for this, saying that he approached a WME executive at the “Deadpool & Wolverine” premiere and “expressed his deep disdain for Baldoni, suggesting the agency was working with a ‘sexual predator.’”
Prior to “It Ends With Us,” Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart,” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book pushing back against traditional notions of masculinity.
“Lively knew full well that making those allegations would be a career death sentence for Plaintiffs, especially given that Baldoni has lived his private and public life as an impassioned advocate for gender equality and healthy masculinity,” his lawsuit says.
Lively came to fame through the 2005 film “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” and bolstered her stardom on the TV series “Gossip Girl” from 2007 to 2012. She has since starred in films including “The Town” and “The Shallows.”
Baldoni’s lawsuit says Lively’s cruelty even extended to having her suit served on Baldoni and his co-defendants during the onset of the wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area, saying that on a day when they were “gathering their kids and pets, preparing ‘go bags’ and monitoring evacuation orders while fearing for their homes, Lively—from the safety of her penthouse in New York— deployed process servers.”
The suit against Baldoni and other defendants was filed on Dec. 31, but the serving of papers as required by law came the following week.
By ANDREW DALTON
AP Entertainment Writer
