Blake Lively filed a complaint last December against Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment on the set of the film “Never Again.” The director and actor counterattacked by filing a complaint in turn.
This is the latest legal battle raging in Hollywood. Since the release of the film Never again (It ends with usadaptation of the novel by Colleen Hoover), tensions between the actress Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) and actor and director Justin Baldoni (also known for his role in the series Jane the Virgin) have not gone unnoticed by Internet users and the media, the two protagonists of the feature film having never appeared together during promotion last August. But since December 2024, the matter has taken a new turn.
Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Justin Baldoni on December 20. She also accuses the actor and director of having led, through his advice, a massive smear campaign against her following a meeting during which she allegedly denounced “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Justin Baldoni and a producer.
What does Blake Lively have against Justin Baldoni?
This is the New York Times who gave more information the day after the complaint was filed: the actress denounced forced kisses, discussions on private subjects (the weight or religion of the actress, the sex life of the actor in an inappropriate manner or ” her former addiction to porn”), but also discussions about the actress’ deceased father. She also accused one of the producers, Jamey Heath, of showing her a video of his naked wife giving birth, and claims that the two men entered her dressing room when she was naked, including “once while she breastfed her infant”, each time without his permission.
Blake Lively says that after expressing her discomfort during a work meeting, negative comments about her emerged on social networks, forums or press articles. The New York Times reports in its article “private messages” which would indicate a desire to damage his reputation. The actress assures that Justin Baldoni would also have increased the content denouncing domestic violence (theme of the film Never again) in an effort to “protect her public image” before the actress’ accusations became public.
“I hope that my legal action will help lift the veil on these sinister retaliatory tactics aimed at harming those who speak out against wrongdoing and protecting others who may be targeted,” added Blake Lively to the New York Times .
Justin Baldoni files a complaint in turn
The lawyer for Justin Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, Bryan Freedman, denounced “scandalous and completely false accusations”, assuring that his client was the victim of a “vicious smear campaign entirely orchestrated by Blake Lively and his team.” “The truth will shock all those who were manipulated and believed in a blatantly false story,” the lawyer warned a few days ago to the People media: “The New York Times has bowed to the desires and whims of of untouchable Hollywood elites.”
In return, the director and actor would have filed a defamation complaint against the New York Times which reported Blake Lively’s accusations, we learn Variety. The filmmaker and nine other plaintiffs are suing the newspaper for defamation, invasion of privacy, disclosure of false information and implicit breach of contract. They are asking for $250 million in compensation. According to Variety, the complaint from Baldoni and his team says the actress used “false accusations of sexual harassment to gain unilateral control over all aspects of the film’s production.”
In return, the New York Times assured that it had conducted “a meticulous and responsible investigation”, which “is based on the examination of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we cite with precision and in detail in the article. To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other people affected by the article and their representatives have not reported a single error,” states the spokesperson for the American daily.