The Justin Baldoni vs Blake Lively legal battle is getting murkier by the day. The actor-director, who was accused of perpetrating sexual misconduct by Blake Lively and other crew members of It Ends With Us, claimed he had an “aggressive” confrontation with Ryan Reynolds (actor, Blake Lively’s husband) last year in his new lawsuit against the New York Times.
Mr Baldoni claimed that Ryan Reynolds “berated” him during a heated argument at the couple’s Tribeca penthouse in New York after the actor accused the director of “fat-shaming” his wife, reported New York Post.
The lawsuit mentioned that Mr Baldoni had back issues so he wanted to ensure that he could lift Blake Lively for a scene in the film. That’s why he allegedly asked how much Blake weighed before enacting the scene. However, Blake allegedly “refused to perform” the scene with Mr Baldoni despite rehearsing “with a stunt double.”
“The confrontation that followed was so aggressive that Baldoni felt compelled to offer repeated apologies,” the lawsuit read.
“Baldoni, in an effort to avoid further confrontation with Lively and Reynolds and rebuild rapport with his co-star, continued to bend to her will,” the legal filing added.
Mr. Baldoni also claimed Ryan pressured his agency, WME, to drop him – allegedly during the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere in July, before Mr Baldoni hired his crisis management team.
A WME representative, however, denied the accusations that Ryan Reynolds or Blake Lively pressured the company to drop Justin as a client.
Justin Baldoni’s 250 million dollar lawsuit was filed on Tuesday. The suit includes 10 plaintiffs who are suing the Times for false invasion of privacy over the December 21 article titled “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.”
Meanwhile, Blake Lively filed a new lawsuit in a federal court, New York after submitting an 80-page complaint at California Civil Rights Department Complaint. In the new lawsuit, Blake Lively demanded monetary compensation for mental pain, anguish, severe emotional distress, and lost wages from Justin Baldoni.
Blake Lively’s attorneys reacted to Mr. Baldoni’s lawsuit in a statement to The Post.
An excerpt read, “Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today. This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice ‘not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ and that ‘litigation was never her ultimate goal.’
Blake Lively got support from several Hollywood big wigs in her battle against Justin Baldoni. Following the complaint, Mr Baldoni was dropped by his agency.
