Real reason Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for eye-watering sum of $400 million

Justin Baldoni is suing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400million because the hefty sum is said to be close to their combined net worth and he wants to bankrupt them, an insider has claimed.

The actor, 41, is currently embroiled in a bitter legal saga with the Gossip Girl star, 37, and the Deadpool actor, 48, following their film It Ends With Us, in which they played a couple whose marriage was marred by domestic violence.

It all kicked off when Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment in December – allegations he staunchly denies. 

At the same time, the New York Times released a story based on her legal filing that accused him of orchestrating a smear campaign against her.

Baldoni hit back by suing the publication for defamation before launching the $400million lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds earlier this month, in which he accused the Hollywood pair of conspiring to trash his reputation with the allegations.

He also accused Lively of hijacking the filming of It Ends With Us, which he directed, and claimed she forced him and his family to wait in a basement holding area at the premiere so she did not have to see him.

While many have questioned why Baldoni is going after the specific sum, a source exclusively told DailyMail.com that he deduced the figure from Lively and Reynolds’ reported net worth.

They said Baldoni has already lost out on thousands since being dropped by his agent, and that if the couple were successful in their lawsuit, he could be left penniless.

‘Justin Baldoni chose $400 million because of the simple reason that Blake and Ryan’s combined net worth is believed to be around that figure,’ the source said.

‘If they were successful in their pursuits, Justin would have lost everything he has and everything he has ever worked for.

‘He has already lost jobs including the podcast and he was dropped by his agent. Prior to this he was flourishing.’

They continued: ‘People close to Justin believe Blake and Ryan deserve to be bankrupted for trying to ruin the lives of Justin and others involved in this legal nightmare.’

DailyMail.com has contacted Baldoni’s rep for comment.

Lively and Reynolds reportedly have a combined net worth of $380 million, which is largely thanks to his numerous lucrative off-screen ventures.

Over the years, he has had a stake in several businesses, including Aviation Gin, Mint Mobile, and FuboTV.

In 2020, the actor sold his stake in Aviation Gin to Diageo, one of the world’s largest producers of spirits and beers, in a deal worth up to $610 million.  

That same year, he famously purchased Wrexham Football Club along with actor Rob McElhenney for $2.5 million. 

On top of this, Reynolds’ darkly comic portrayal of the flawed superhero Deadpool in the eponymous 2016 and 2018 films made him one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors.

Lively has also exercised her entrepreneurial streak in recent years with multiple brands including her gourmet mixer venture Betty Buzz, which sold 2.5 Million bottles within seven months of the launch back in 2021, Betty Booze – premium cocktails – and her new Blake Brown Beauty line. 

Together, Lively and Reynolds have also showed off their philanthropic side, having previously donated $500,000 to Feeding America and $500,000 to Food Banks Canada during the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020.

The couple faced a torrent of allegations against them when Baldoni fired back with a counter suit earlier this month.

The actor accused Reynolds of ‘swearing’ and ‘berating him in an aggressive tirade’ at a meeting held at the couple’s New York penthouse – where Reynolds was present as his wife’s ‘representative’ to discuss Baldoni’s conduct.

Lively’s attorneys issued a fiery statement to DailyMail.com in response to the lawsuit, branding it ‘another chapter in the abuser playbook.’

‘This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim,’ they said. ‘This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.’

The statement claimed Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios ‘opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.’

Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman explained his client’s decision to sue.

‘This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media,’ he said in a statement.

‘This is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret. Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.’

On Monday, DailyMail.com published exclusive audio which sheds further light on the feud which arose when Lively made changes to the rooftop scene in the romantic drama film – not all of which were met with unqualified praise.

Baldoni can be heard offering the actress a groveling apology and noting ‘I fell short’ over his response to her changes. 

In the full audio message, which is just over six and a half minutes long, he goes on to say that he is pleased she feels comfortable enough to tell him that and describes himself as ‘a very flawed man, as my wife will say.’ 

It came days after video footage appeared to pull Lively’s sexual harassment claims into question.

The actress accused Baldoni of dragging his lips down her neck and telling her ‘it smells so good’ while filming a dance scene, with Lively claiming in her civil rights complaint that nobody overheard because the microphones were switched off.

But the tapes show how friendly the two stars were, with the pair laughing and joking around, joshing about the size of Baldoni’s nose and even talking about how they spend their time with their spouses.