'Until the End Comes' director Justin Baldoni accuses actor Blake Lively of harassment and a systematic campaign to attack her reputation after she came forward about her treatment on set. He filed a lawsuit against several people involved in the film.
The federal lawsuit, along with a number of other defendants in Baldoni and Lively's lawsuit, accuses the New York Times of systematically defaming Baldoni and Lively, suing it for defamation of its articles about her claims. hours later, on Tuesday in New York. campaign.
Lively's lawsuit alleges that Baldoni, the film production company Wayfarer Studios and others engaged in a “well-crafted, coordinated and funded retaliatory scheme to silence her and others.” claims. She said in a meeting with her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, that Baldoni and the studio had embarked on a “multilayered plan” to tarnish her reputation after she mentioned “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Baldoni and the producer. he accused. , Jamie Heath, who is also named in both lawsuits.
The plan included proposals to plant theories on online message boards, orchestrate social media campaigns, and publish news articles critical of Lively, the complaint alleges.
Allegations of on-set abuse included Baldoni's comments about the bodies of Lively and other women on set. The complaint also alleges that Baldoni and Heath “discussed their personal sexual experiences and past addictions to pornography, and attempted to pressure Ms. Lively into revealing details of her intimate life.”
Mr. Baldoni's lawyer, Brian Friedman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr. Lively's lawsuit, but he has previously called the same allegations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally despicable.” He said that.
Mr Lively's suit was brought on the same day that Mr Baldoni and others filed a defamation suit against the New York Times in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking at least $250m (£200m) in damages. It was done. The newspaper said it stands by its reporting and intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit.
Other defendants in Lively's lawsuit and plaintiffs in the defamation lawsuit include Melissa Nathan, a Wayfarer and crisis communications expert. Her alleged text messages were quoted in the headline of a Dec. 21 article, which read: Hollywood smear machine. ”
The story, written by Megan Toohey, Mike McIntyre, and Julie Tate, was published shortly after Ms. Lively filed a legal complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights, the precursor to a federal lawsuit.
The defamation lawsuit alleges the newspaper “relied almost entirely on Lively's unverified and self-serving story, while ignoring a wealth of evidence that contradicts her claims and exposes her true motives.” “I lifted it almost exactly as it was.” But the Times didn't care. ”
“Our story was reported sensitively and responsibly,” New York Times spokesperson Daniel Rose said in a statement.
“This is based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including text messages and emails cited accurately and in detail in the article,” the statement said. “So far, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article, and their representatives have not pointed out a single error.”
But Mr. Baldoni's lawsuit argues that “if the Times had really reviewed the thousands of private letters it claims to have obtained, it would have been clear that the Times' reporters had engaged in a calculated smear campaign against Lively, not the plaintiffs. “You have seen irrefutable evidence that this is the case.”
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Ms. Lively is not a defendant in the defamation suit. “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,” her attorney said in a statement. Ta.
The romantic drama “It Ends with Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Huber's 2016 best-selling novel, was released in August and exceeded expectations with a debut gross of $50 million. However, the film's release was surrounded by speculation surrounding a rift between Lively and Baldoni. Baldoni took a backseat in promoting the film, while Lively took center stage with Reynolds, who was also on the Deadpool & Wolverine press circuit.
Lively rose to fame in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and rose to fame on the television series Gossip Girl from 2007 to 2012. Since then, she has appeared in films such as The Town and The Shallows.
Baldoni starred in the TV comedy Jane the Virgin, directed the 2019 film Five Feet Apart, and wrote Man Enough, a book that resists traditional notions of masculinity. Responding to concerns that Seraph of the End glorified domestic violence, he said at the time that critics were “absolutely entitled to their opinions.”
Shortly after Lively filed her complaint and the New York Times published an article about it, he was fired from his agency, WME. The agency represents both Lively and Reynolds.
Friedman said in a statement regarding the defamation suit: “The New York Times cowered to the desires and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood elites.
“In doing so, they predetermine the outcome of their story, reinvigorate the public image of Lively's self-inflicted struggles, and counter the growing organic criticism among the online public.” aided and abetted their own devastating PR smear campaign aimed at ”
