Justin Baldoni accused of launching 'more attacks' on Blake Lively

The actress' lawyers are calling out Baldoni for seemingly trying to deflect attention from the allegations against him by shifting the "blame" onto Lively.

This comes after Blake Lively filed a complaint alleging that Justin Baldoni launched a PR campaign to tarnish her reputation, which harmed her business.

Article continues below ad

Blake Lively's legal team calls out Justin Baldoni

Blake Lively at the world premiere of 'It Ends with Us' on August 6, 2024.
MEGA

Lively's legal team is speaking out against Justin Baldoni, accusing him of launching "more attacks" on the actress.

In a statement for People Magazineher lawyers strongly defended her claims of sexual harassment, saying they were "supported by concrete facts".

"This is not a 'feud' arising from 'creative differences' or a 'he said/he said' situation," the lawyers note.

They continued: “As Ms. Lively's complaint alleges, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer (Studios) and its associates engaged in unlawful, vindictive astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a movie set . "

They also accused Baldoni and his team of escalating attacks on Lively since she filed her lawsuit.

Article continues below ad

"Their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks on Ms. Lively since her filing," they said, adding, "Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry."

Article continues below ad

Lawyers claim Justin Baldoni is trying to deflect attention from allegations by 'blaming the victim'

Justin Baldoni and It Ends With Us cast
MEGA

Debunking the typical manipulative tactics used by perpetrators, Lively's lawyers argued that Baldoni and his team were trying to accuse the actress of being the cause of the problem in order to "distract" the allegations against him.

They said: "A classic tactic to deflect allegations of this type of misconduct is to 'blame the victim' by suggesting that they invited the behaviour, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions or even lied."

Lively's legal team continued: "Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and perpetrator and suggest that the perpetrator is actually the victim. These concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct."

Finally, Lively's legal team made it clear that the media statements would not affect the merits of her case.

Article continues below ad

"Most importantly, the media statements are not a defense to Ms. Lively's legal claims," ​​they noted. "We will continue to prosecute her claims in federal court, where the rule of law determines who prevails, not hyperbole and threats."

Article continues below ad

Actress says her business was damaged by 'smear campaign'

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in New York "Free Guy" The premiere
MEGA

In the lawsuit filed on New Year's Eve, Lively alleged that Baldoni's smear campaign caused significant "financial damage" to her business that "continues to this day."

According to the "IF" actress, the backlash she faced severely affected her business ventures, including her hair care line, Blake Brown, and her two beverage brands, Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, resulting in significant sales losses.

Legal documents obtained by Daily Mail report that Blake Brown's sales dropped by as much as 78% after the "social manipulation campaign" began.

"Based on internal sales projections, the sudden and unexpected negative media campaign launched against Ms. Lively reduced retail sales of Blake Brown products by 56-78 percent," the lawsuit states.

It goes on to claim that this sharp drop in sales "was in stark contrast to the high satisfaction ratings Blake Brown's products received in significant pre-launch consumer testing or its initial post-launch success."

Article continues below ad

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's lawsuit drama

Justin Baldoni
MEGA

The actress starred alongside Baldoni in "It Ends With Us," a film released in August 2024 and streaming now on Netflix.

However, after months of rumors of a feud between the co-stars, Lively filed a complaint with the California Department of Civil Rights, claiming that Baldoni sexually harassed her on set and created a toxic work environment.

The day after her complaint, The New York Times published an article detailing how Baldoni allegedly hired a crisis PR firm to "bury" Lively's reputation and undermine her credibility.

In response, the 37-year-old actress sued Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.

Baldoni countered by filing a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the publication, accusing them of promoting an "unverified and self-serving narrative."

The actor's attorney, Bryan Freedman, also announced his plans to release text messages between Baldoni and Lively.

Article continues below ad

Justin Baldoni plans to release lyrics in response to Blake Lively's lawsuit

Blake Lively at the It Ends With Us UK Gala Screening at the Odeon Luxe in London
MEGA

Baldoni's attorney, Freedman, revealed in a statement to NBC that Baldoni intends to take legal action directly against Lively.

He said: "We plan to release every text message between the two of them (sic). We want the truth out there. We want the documents out there. We want people to make a decision based on the evidence."

Lively's lawsuit allegedly includes screenshots of text messages between Baldoni and his associates, Abel and Nathan, detailing an alleged coordinated effort to damage her reputation.

Freedman criticized the disclosure of these private exchanges, arguing that the messages lacked "critical context."

The lawyer claims the full-text exchange, which he will release, contradicts Lively's claims that Baldoni entered her trailer without permission while she was naked or breastfeeding.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *