Justin Baldoni has filed a lawsuit against his ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively, and her husband Ryan Reynolds, for $US400 million ($AU644 million).
It comes after Lively sued Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment and the staging of a PR campaign to ruin her reputation.
Here’s what you need to know.
It Ends With Us
Lively and Baldoni both appeared in the 2024 film, which Baldoni also directed.
The, an adaptation of a best-selling 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, follows a woman’s experience in, and trying to leave, an abusive relationship.
Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios owns the rights to Hoover’s novel and its sequel, ‘It Starts With Us’.
Filming began in mid-2023. ‘It Ends With Us’ premiered in August 2024.
During the press tour for the film, Lively was widely accused on social media of trivialising the film’s theme of domestic violence.
Lively was also criticised for launching a hair care line, Blake Brown, at the same time as the film’s release.
Old interviews with Lively were resurfaced and attracted new, negative attention online.
Baldoni and Lively rarely appeared together while promoting the film, and held separate interviews.
Lively lawsuit
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In late December, Lively filed a legal complaint in California, which was published in full by The New York Times. The kind of action that was filed is often the first step towards a lawsuit, which followed a week later.
The complaint named Wayfarer Studio, Baldoni, PR firm The Agency Group, and senior executives from both the studio and the firm as defendants.
It alleged sexual harassment of Lively by Baldoni, and the alleged creation of a PR campaign to ruin her reputation.
New York Times
On New Year’s Eve, Baldoni and his company sued The New York Times for defamation for $US250 million.
Baldoni alleges the newspaper did not follow proper journalistic practices, published false allegations and deliberately left out evidence that disputed their “chosen narrative”.
In response, The New York Times said their story “was meticulously and responsibly reported”.
New lawsuit
On Thursday, Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and the PR agents named in Lively’s suit counter-sued her and husband Ryan Reynolds. Lively’s publicist is also named as a defendant.
The group are being sued for defamation, invasion of privacy, and civil extortion (obtaining information through wrongful force).
Baldoni accused Lively of hijacking the film’s production, cutting him out of the process, and making false allegations against him.
