It Ends With Us actor and director Justin Baldoni is reportedly preparing a counter-complaint against co-star Blake Lively, after she filed a bombshell legal complaint against him, which included allegations of sexual harassment.
According to the Daily Mail, the actor is gearing up to submit legal documents when the courts reopen after New Year’s Day.
Speaking to Deadline, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, said he wasn’t “going to speak to when or how many lawsuits” they’re filing. However, he claimed the first one would “shock” everyone.
“I am not going to speak to when or how many lawsuits we are filing but when we file our first lawsuit, it is going to shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” Freedman shared.
“It will be supported by real evidence and tell the true story. In over 30 years of practising, I have never seen this level of unethical behaviour intentionally fueled through media manipulation. It reminds me of what NBC tried to do to Megyn Kelly and Gabrielle Union and we all know how that ended up. Standby.”
According to the Daily Mail, Baldoni’s counter-complaint will “completely flip” Lively’s accusations and includes claims such as the WhatsApp messages from Baldoni’s team being taken out of context, Lively’s publicist allegedly planting negative press about Baldoni with news organisations and that Lively’s legal complaint was designed to “rebuild her public image” following the It Ends With Us media frenzy.
The publication also reported that Baldoni’s counter-complaint will also accuse Lively’s Vision PR team, led by Leslie Sloane, of organising a smear campaign against Baldoni.
In response to the UK publication’s report, Sloane told Deadline, “It’s clear that Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Associates are suggesting that I originated press stories about HR complaints on set, which is false.”
“Please read Ms. Lively’s Complaint and the Complaint filed by Jonesworks LLC and Stephanie Jones, which provides the details of the campaign against my client.”
Rumours of a feud between Lively and Baldoni have been simmering ever since It Ends With Us made it to the silver screen.
However, it all reached boiling point when Lively filed a legal complaint against her co-star last week, which included allegations of sexual harassment on set.
The complaint also alleged that Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, the company that produced the movie, embarked on a “multi-tiered plan” to “destroy” her reputation following a meeting to address “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” on set.
When the explosive legal complaint was published, Lively told The New York Times she hoped her legal action would highlight misconduct and empower others to speak up.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” she said.
Baldoni’s camp immediately denied all of Lively’s accusations, with Freedman describing the claims as “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious”.
Since then, many actors — as well as It Ends With Us author Colleen Hoover — have come forward, voicing their support for Lively.
As for Baldoni, the actor has reportedly been dropped from his agency, WME, and has been sued by his former publicist Steph Jones.
Image source: Getty Images
