Justin Baldoni embroiled Taylor Swift in a heated legal battle with “Breaking Up” co-star Blake Lively.
Baldoni accused Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of civil extortion, defamation and more in the $400 million lawsuit — which coincidentally mentions global pop star Swift.
The “Jane the Virgin” star’s lawsuit follows Livelyna’s Where She Is accused the actor of sexual harassment while filming the movie “It ends with us”. However, Baldoni insisted that Lively had “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation following the fallout over the film’s press tour after she took control of the film.
In an attempt to show how Lively allegedly took control of the film’s production, Baldoni’s legal team claimed the actress used her friendship with Swift to threaten him. While working on the film, Lively insisted on rewriting the infamous rooftop scene. Baldoni was hesitant about the idea, but told the 37-year-old actress he would “see what she put together,” according to the complaint.
Justin Baldoni mentioned Taylor Swift, inset, in his lawsuit against Blake Lively. (Getty Images)
Afterward, Lively invited Baldoni to her home in New York, where the actor said he felt Swift and Reynolds pressured him to use the rewritten scene. “Later, Baldoni felt obligated to text Lively to say that he liked her pages and that Reynolds and her mega-famous friend shouldn’t have pressured him,” the complaint states.
“… I really like what you did. It really helps a lot. Makes it a lot more fun and interesting. (I would feel the same way without Ryan and Taylor [emoji] You really are a talent in all areas. Really excited nd [sic] grateful that we are doing this together,” Baldoni’s text reads, according to the complaint.
Lively shared a lengthy response, calling Swift and Reynolds “dragons” who protect her.
“The message couldn’t have been clearer. Baldoni wasn’t just dealing with Lively. He was also dealing with Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most powerful and richest celebrities in the world, who weren’t afraid to make things very difficult for him.”
Lively and Swift have been friends for years. (Gotham)
“Both Ryan and [redacted] have established themselves as absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig – just singing or just acting or [redacted] only direction. I’m so happy to have them as creative barometers,” Lively’s text included in the complaint reads. “But also to have them as people who support me and make sure I’m seen as much as I can, and offer . Because they know first hand everything I contribute. They also know that I’m not always good at making sure someone sees and takes advantage of me for fear of compromising egos or for fear of affecting the simplicity of the process. They don’t care about that. And because of this, everyone listens to them with immense respect and enthusiasm. So I guess I need to stop worrying about whether people like me.”
Baldoni believed that “the message could not have been clearer,” the lawsuit states. “Baldoni didn’t just deal with Lively. He also faced Lively’s ‘dragons,’ two of the most influential and richest celebrities in the world, who weren’t afraid to make things difficult for him.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.
Swift chats with Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman at the Kansas City Chiefs game. (Dustin Satloff)
BLAKE LIVELY ‘IT ENDS WITH US’ BRANDON SKLENAR, JENNY SLATE ‘ADMIRATE HER COURAGE’ AMID LAWSUIT
Baldoni accused Lively of torturing him, his family and colleagues during the film’s production process in a lawsuit filed Thursday and obtained by Fox News Digital. The actor asked for a jury trial and a $400 million judgment.
Baldoni’s legal team she argued that Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment.
Lively “couldn’t tolerate her publicly tarnished image for a second, and furthermore couldn’t accept that it was entirely of her own making,” the lawsuit states. “She needed a scapegoat. And instead of admitting and taking responsibility for her own misfortunes, she chose to blame the accusers, in a malicious and unforgivably public way.
“When she and Reynolds couldn’t get Baldoni and Wayfarer to read a statement she and her representatives had prepared, forcing them to ‘take responsibility’ in defense of Lively’s actions, she waited for months, preparing to publicly attack Baldoni by falsely claiming he had sexually assaulted her. harassed.”
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Baldoni sued Lively and Reynolds for $400 million. (Getty Images)
Lively’s rep slammed Baldoni’s lawsuit.
“This latest lawsuit by Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and his associates is another chapter in the abuser’s book,” Lively’s legal team said in a statement. “This is an age-old story: a woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the abuser tries to turn the victim. It’s what the experts call DARVO. Denial. Assault. Reverse-victim-perpetrator.”
The statement continued in part: “Their response to allegations of sexual harassment: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why it happened to her: look at 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, does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and will not succeed.”
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Lively and Baldoni starred together in the movie “It Ends With Us”. (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Vividly detailed allegations of sexual harassmentretaliation, intentional infliction of emotional pain, negligence and more by Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint filed first with the California Department of Civil Rights and later in federal court.
Some of the issues allegedly discussed at the “all hands” meeting before filming began included no more showing Lively nude videos or pictures of women, no more mention of Baldoni’s past “pornography addiction,” no more discussion of personal experiences with sex, no more descriptions of her own genitalia, no more adding sex scenes beyond what was in the original script, no more discussions about Lively’s weight or her deceased father, and more.
Baldoni’s attorney denied the allegations in a statement to The New York Times.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and deliberately vile with the intention of publicly hurting and questioning the narrative in the media,” he asserted.
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