Actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued Blake Lively and her husband, 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.
Lively’s allegations of sexual and other harassment followed by retaliation are utterly false, Baldoni’s 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, his lawsuit alleges.
Lively’s Dec. 31 lawsuit came just hours after Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper worked with Lively to smear him. The Times said it stood by its reporting and planned to “vigorously defend” against the allegations.
