Blake Lively filed a formal lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni on Tuesday, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation, according to documents obtained by FOX News Digital.
Lively, 37, originally filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Department of Civil Rights on December 21, accusing Baldoni (who also directed the film) of sexual harassment during production of the drama.
She also claimed that after she raised her concerns, he worked with his crisis communications team to organize a retaliatory campaign aimed at ruining her career.
Justin Baldoni says Blake Lively's claims are 'false and destructive', lawyer says new lawsuit will reveal truth
Blake Lively accuses Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment in a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday, December 31st. (Getty Images)
Mr. Lively's federal lawsuit comes on the heels of Mr. Baldoni filing a $250 million defamation suit against the New York Times, alleging it published an article “riddled with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions.” , was released on Tuesday.
Blake Lively's IT END WITH US co-stars Brandon Slenor and Jenny Slate praise her courage amid lawsuit
“Nothing in this lawsuit changes the allegations made in Ms. Lively's California Civil Rights Division complaint or in the federal complaint filed earlier today,” Lively's attorney told Fox News. told Digital.
Lively filed a complaint against Baldoni in December after rumors of a feud on the set of “It Ends with Us.” (Getty Images)
“This lawsuit shows that Ms. Lively's administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ploy based on her choice not to “file a lawsuit against Wayfarer and Baldoni,'' and that “litigation was never her ultimate goal.'' It is based on the clearly false premise that Ms. Lively submitted earlier today. While we do not intend to litigate this issue in the press, we encourage you to read Ms. Lively's complaint in its entirety. That framework for the Wayfarer case is incorrect, as evidenced in the federal complaint. We look forward to addressing each of Wayfarer's claims in court.”
The “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” actress said in a federal filing that Baldoni, her film production company Wayfarer Studios, and a handful of other officials “have tried to silence her and others. He claimed that he was involved in a “carefully crafted, coordinated and funded retaliation plan” to Out loud. ”
Ms. Lively said Ms. Baldoni worked with a crisis public relations firm after she (along with husband Ryan Reynolds) dealt with “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Mr. Baldoni and producer Jamie Heath. (Who are named in the lawsuit?)
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of It Ends With Us on January 12, 2024. (Jose Perez/Bauer Griffin/GC Images)
She also claimed that Baldoni and Heath “discussed their personal sexual experiences and past pornography addictions” on set, according to the documents.
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Representatives for Mr. Baldoni did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. He previously told the Times that Lively's original claims were “completely false, outrageous and intentionally despicable with the intent of publicly tarnishing and rehashing the narrative in the media.”
Mr. Baldoni filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Times after it published an article with the headline “Anyone Can Bury: Inside Hollywood's Slander Machine,” in which he It said private emails and text messages displayed “almost undetectable slanderous tactics.” About “Campaign in the Digital Age” Lively.
But Baldoni and other plaintiffs, including a Hollywood public relations expert, claim the Times article “deliberately omitted some text exchanges and other information that contradicted the actress' account.” . They claim the Times defamed them in the process and ignored important context from the communication that disputed many of Lively's claims.
Baldoni not only starred in the film adaptation of the novel, but also directed the film. (Getty Images)
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“The article's central allegation, summed up in a defamatory headline designed to immediately mislead readers, is that the plaintiffs orchestrated a retaliatory public relations campaign against Lively for speaking out about sexual harassment. “This premise, however, is decisively false and easily disproved,” the 87-page lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by attorney Brian Friedman argues.
friedman told Variety “Intimidated by the desires and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites, the Times used altered and manipulated texts and deliberately omitted texts that challenged their chosen PR narrative,” the Times wrote. “by ignoring journalistic practices and ethics worthy of a once-respected publication.”
“The role of an independent news organization is to track the facts. Our story was reported with great care and responsibility. “It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents,'' Times spokesperson Daniel Rhodes Ha said. fox news digital.
“We are their Full statement We similarly responded to the allegations in the article,” she continued, adding, “We intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit.”
Fox News Digital's Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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