LOS ANGELES, Jan 1 — Blake Lively has escalated her legal battle with co-star and director Justin Baldoni, filing a federal lawsuit in New York, just 11 days after initially lodging a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department.
Deadline reported today that the new suit, which follows a previous filing, seeks unspecified damages and alleges a coordinated retaliatory scheme orchestrated by Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios team.
The lawsuit claims that Lively, who starred alongside Baldoni in It Ends With Us, was subjected to an intentional campaign to silence her after she raised concerns about the film’s workplace environment.
“As laid out in this Complaint, the Baldoni-Wayfarer-led public attack of Ms Lively was the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her,” the suit states.
It further accuses Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath of creating a hostile work environment and continuing to harm Lively and others through threats of retaliation.
Lively’s legal team at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, alongside Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, emphasised that she had consistently tried to address these issues privately, aiming to ensure a safe and respectful environment without jeopardising the film.
The suit outlines how Lively’s attempt to voice her concerns was met with efforts to destroy her reputation and silence those who supported her.
“Ms Lively never sought out conflict with Wayfarer, Mr Baldoni, or Mr Heath, but instead consistently attempted to speak up for a safe and respectful workplace,” her lawyers argue.
This legal action comes on the same day that Baldoni and his team, including his PR representatives, filed their own US$250 million (RM1.1 billion) lawsuit against the New York Times.
Their suit claims that the newspaper’s December 20 article, “We Can Bury Anyone: Inside A Hollywood Smear Machine,” misrepresented their actions by selectively editing and distorting communications between the PR team.
In their response to Lively’s allegations, Baldoni’s PR team admitted in a now-deleted Facebook post that they had privately mocked the feedback they received from Lively’s team but denied any involvement in a smear campaign.
“We sophomorically revelled and again joked privately to each other about the internet’s feedback to the woman whose team was making our lives incredibly difficult,” said PR representative Melissa Nathan.
Despite these claims, Lively’s legal filing asserts that her actions were in response to the toxic workplace environment and harassment she endured.
“Ms Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the Complaint took place,” her attorneys said.
They also noted that while this case is filed in New York, they reserve the right to pursue further action in other jurisdictions.
“Ms Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks,” her attorneys concluded.
“Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court.”
