Justin Baldoni has released a statement after it was reported that his It Ends With Us co-star, Blake Lively, had sued him for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, denied the claims against his client and referred to them as “outrageous and intentionally salacious.” The news of this lawsuit comes months after the controversial release of It Ends With Us and the subsequent press tour surrounding it.
“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives,” Baldoni’s attorney told the New York Times. Freedman continued to address Lively’s claims, saying that they were “yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.”
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“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” the lawyer added. In the statement, the attorney acknowledged that Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, hired a crisis manager amid the controversy surrounding It Ends With Us‘ press tour. Freedman claimed that his client “made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film” because of the alleged “multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
Lively also released a statement to the New York Times about the lawsuit. Her statement read, “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.”
It was revealed on Dec. 21 that Lively was suing Baldoni over the alleged sexual harassment that she experienced on set, which she said created a “hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the Film.” Additionally, she claimed that she suffered “severe emotional distress” as a result of the alleged public smear campaign that she says was “a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation.” Lively not only starred in It Ends With Us as Lily Bloom but also served as one of the film’s producers. Baldoni starred as Lively’s onscreen love interest, Ryle Kincaid, and served as a director and producer for the movie.