Blake Lively’s Lawyers Call Justin Baldoni’s $400M Lawsuit ‘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," Lively's lawyers said in a statement.

By Lauren Tousignant  |  January 17, 2025 | 11:09am
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Blake Lively’s Lawyers Call Justin Baldoni’s $400M Lawsuit ‘Another Chapter in the Abuser Playbook’

Nothing is ending anytime soon.

On Thursday, Justin Baldoni filed a $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds that his lawyer has been threatening for weeks. Lively’s lawyers were quick to respond.

“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is 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. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” the statement from Lively’s attorneys read. “Wayfarer has 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 latest suit follows Lively’s 80-page complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department alleging he sexually harassed her during production then launched a PR smear campaign against her on December 20; Baldoni’s $250 lawsuit against the New York Times, accusing them of “quietly working in concert with Lively’s team for weeks or months,” filed on December 31; and Lively’s formal lawsuit against Baldoni in New York federal court alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages, also filed on December 31.

This new new suit alleges Lively and Reynolds tried to take control of It Ends With Us, and accuses them of “defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.”

Oh and the suit also seemingly threw in Taylor Swift‘s name for good measure. Baldoni claims that Lively sent him “dramatic” edits that she and Reynolds made to a scene, and that he “diplomatically” responded that the final would probably end up being some of their edits and some of his. Lively allegedly took days to respond to Baldoni’s message and finally said his notes “didn’t feel great” to her or to Swift. Baldoni then claims he was invited to Lively’s home where Reynolds kept giving “enthusiastic praise” of Lively’s edits and then Swift swung by and did the same.

Baldoni allegedly texted Lively after the meeting to say he liked her edits and she didn’t need to get anyone to pressure him. Lively responded that Reynolds and Swift are her “dragons” who protect her and “don’t give a shit” about “threatening egos” or “affecting the ease of the process.” Does that sound kind of annoying? Sure. But you can’t really sue someone for $400 million for being annoying. Baldoni also alleges in the suit that Lively never read the original Colleen Hoover book, which kind of just feels like you’re pulling at straws at that point…

“Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault,” the statement from Lively’s lawyer concludes. “Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”

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