Baldoni on Reynolds’ Ambition for It Ends With Us

Overview of Legal Dispute Involving Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni

Before Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit with California’s Civil Rights department on December 20 last year, Justin Baldoni accused Ryan Reynolds of significantly influencing the ongoing conflict between him and Lively regarding the events that transpired during the filming of It Ends With Us, set to release in summer 2024.

Opposition Filing and Allegations

In an April Fool’s Day opposition filing, Baldoni, alongside his Wayfarer Studios and their publicists, aims to thwart Reynolds’ attempt to be dismissed from a $400 million defamation and extortion case that includes Lively, Reynolds, publicist Leslie Sloane, and the New York Times. The legal document claims that “Reynolds and Lively exploited Lively’s false insinuations to coerce the Wayfarer Parties into yielding power and authority not rightfully theirs.”

Claims of a Smear Campaign

The filing contends that “Reynolds and Lively, together with the Sloane Parties, engaged in a coordinated effort to distort benign interactions to support a false narrative of sexual harassment against Lively.” This alleged strategy was purportedly designed to instill fear in the Wayfarer Parties to gain leverage.

Context of the Dispute

Despite Judge Lewis J. Liman describing this situation as primarily a “feud between PR firms,” Lively has long claimed that an orchestrated campaign against her emerged online last year prior to the release of IEWU, intending to counter allegations of misconduct against Baldoni.

Defenses and Counterclaims

Lively’s allegations are supported by various communications among Baldoni’s PR team, which some argue undermine their client’s credibility. Baldoni and his team insist that no smear campaign took place, countering claims that they selectively used texts for their narrative. Furthermore, Abel, a member of Baldoni’s PR group, mentioned the need to prepare for any scenario, asserting that the online negative sentiment was already in motion without their intervention.

Legal Strategies and Responses

Baldoni’s side appears to regret certain strategic decisions, prompting some to suggest that the narrative of Reynolds seeking power is oversimplified. Meanwhile, Reynolds’ representatives dismissed Baldoni’s opposition as recognizing flaws within their own claims, emphasizing that they do not specify who was allegedly defamed or how harm was incurred.

Lively’s Additional Legal Steps

Amidst all of this, Lively has also filed motions to prevent Jed Wallace from exiting the case, alleging that he was part of a conspiracy to retaliate against her for speaking out about misconduct on the It Ends With Us set. Lively’s legal team details how Wallace’s actions contributed to a campaign that perpetuated negative narratives surrounding her, suggesting a deliberate attempt to create a hostile online environment.