Actor/director Justin Baldoni is responding to the lawsuit filed against him by his It Ends with Us co-star Blake Lively, which accuses Baldoni of sexual harassment, followed by a retaliatory public smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation.
An article printed by The New York Times said that Lively, 37, accused Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath of repeatedly violating physical boundaries and making inappropriate, including sexual, comments to her during production of the film.
TMZ first reported news of the lawsuit Lively filed this week against the men and their production company, allegeing that they sexually harassed her and then tried to ruin her professional reputation when she complained about their actions. The suit said they damaged her business and caused her family, including her husband, actor-producer Ryan Reynolds, “severe emotional distress.”
Through his attorney, Baldoni, 40, issued a statement which called the allegations that Lively made against him “categorically false.” Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “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, as 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. These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film, to work alongside their own representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to the 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.”
Editorial credit: Liam Goodner / Shutterstock.com