Justin Baldoni is accused of launching “further attacks” against Blake Lively
The actress’ lawyers are slamming Baldoni for seemingly trying to distract from the allegations against him by placing the “blame” on Lively.
This came after Blake Lively filed a complaint alleging that Justin Baldoni launched a PR campaign to tarnish her reputation, which hurt her business.
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Blake Lively’s legal team calls on Justin Baldoni
Lively’s legal team is speaking out against Justin Baldoni, accusing him of launching “further attacks” on the actress.
In a statement about this People magazineHer lawyers vigorously defended her sexual harassment claims, saying they were “supported by concrete facts.”
“This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation,” the lawyers noted.
They continued: “As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer (Studios) and its employees unlawfully retaliated against Ms. Lively for simply attempting to protect herself and others on a film set.” “”
They also accused Baldoni and his team of escalating attacks on Lively since she filed her complaint.
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“Their response to the lawsuit has been to launch further attacks against Ms. Lively since it was filed,” they said, adding: “Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in any workplace and in any industry.”
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Lawyers claim Justin Baldoni is trying to distract from the allegations by “blaming the victim”
Lively’s lawyers analyzed typical manipulation tactics used by perpetrators and claimed that Baldoni and his team were trying to accuse the actress of being the cause of the problems in order to distract from the allegations against him.
They said: “A classic tactic to deflect allegations of this type of misconduct is to place blame on the victim by suggesting that they initiated the behavior, brought it on themselves, misunderstood intentions or even lied.”
Lively’s legal team continued: “Another classic tactic is to reverse victim and perpetrator, suggesting 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 media statements had no bearing on the merits of her case.
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“Most importantly, media statements do not constitute a defense of Ms. Lively’s legal claims,” they noted. “We will continue to pursue their claims in federal court, where the rule of law, not hyperbole and threats, will determine who prevails.”
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The actress says her companies have been damaged by a “smear campaign.”
In a complaint filed on New Year’s Eve, Lively alleged that Baldoni’s smear campaign caused significant “financial harm” to her companies that “continues to this day.”
According to the “IF” actress, the backlash she faced has significantly impacted her business activities, including her hair care line Blake Brown and her two beverage brands Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, resulting in a significant loss of sales.
The ones from the Daily Mail say Blake Brown’s sales plummeted by up to 78% after the “social manipulation campaign” began.
“Based on internal sales forecasts, the sudden and unexpected negative media campaign against Ms. Lively resulted in a 56-78 percent decline in retail sales of Blake Brown products,” the lawsuit states.
It goes on to argue that this sharp decline in sales was “completely inconsistent with the high satisfaction scores that Blake Brown’s products received in extensive pre-launch consumer testing or with their initial post-launch success.”
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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit drama
The actress starred alongside Baldoni in It Ends With Us, a film released in theaters in August 2024 and now streaming 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, alleging 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 libel lawsuit against the publication, accusing them of promoting an “unverified and self-serving narrative.”
The actor’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has also announced plans to release text messages between Baldoni and Lively.
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Justin Baldoni plans to release lyrics in response to Blake Lively’s lawsuit
Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman made the announcement in a statement NBC that Baldoni intends to take legal action directly against Lively.
He said: “We plan to publish every single text message between the two (sic). We want the truth to come out. We want the documents to come to light. We want people to make their decision based on evidence.” “
Lively’s lawsuit reportedly includes screenshots of text messages between Baldoni and his associates Abel and Nathan, detailing an alleged coordinated effort to tarnish their reputations.
Freedman criticized the disclosure of these private exchanges, arguing that the messages lacked “critical context.”
The attorney claims the full text exchange they will release contradicts Lively’s claims that Baldoni entered her trailer without permission while she was undressing or breastfeeding.