Justin Baldoni has filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane’s PR firm Vision PR, Inc. in the Southern District of New York on Thursday. The 40 – year – old actor – director’s lawsuit contains some serious allegations.
Baldoni’s attorneys claim that while filming a scene for “It Ends with Us,” Lively, 37, joked that Baldoni “should get plastic surgery.” This happened during a “romance montage” of their characters on a date. They say Baldoni laughed off the jokes about his nose at first, even though Lively kept making them.
This lawsuit is also a response to Lively’s earlier lawsuit on Dec. 20. In her suit, Lively alleged that Baldoni showed “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior on set, creating a “hostile work environment.” She said Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath entered her trailer without invitation when she was undressed or vulnerable. She also claimed Baldoni pressured her to simulate full nudity in a birth scene and improvised physical intimacy without prior discussion or an intimacy coordinator.
Baldoni’s attorneys strongly refute these claims. They say Lively refused to meet with the intimacy coordinator to plan scenes. They claim Baldoni met with the coordinator alone and then met with Lively at her home, often with her husband present, to talk about the scenes.
For example, they say during one meeting, Baldoni read his notes from the intimacy coordinator, which included a suggestion that Lively’s character orgasm during a scene, like in the book. When Lively declined, Baldoni offered another idea from his notes and then moved on.
Baldoni’s side also says that Lively’s claim that a certain scene was filmed without sound is wrong. They say Baldoni was wearing a microphone, and the whole exchange was captured on camera. They call Lively’s allegation of sexual harassment a “documented and knowingly fabricated lie.”
In a statement, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman said the lawsuit is based on a lot of evidence showing Lively and her team’s attempt to destroy Baldoni and his team. He said they spread edited and untrue information to the media, and based on the evidence they’re willing to share, Lively will lose this battle.
Reps for Lively, Reynolds, and Sloane haven’t responded yet to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the suit.
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