Blake Lively has just filed a lawsuit making a formal demand for money, suing Justin Baldoni and others for mental pain and anguish, severe emotional distress, and lost wages.
The lawsuit mirrors the complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Commission — but this action has been filed in federal court in New York.
In addition to Baldoni, Blake is suing Baldoni’s crisis managers, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, along with Wayfarer Studios, which produced the movie “It Ends with Us.”
The lawsuit alleges sexual harassment and other alleged inappropriate behavior on the set.
As TMZ reported … according to the complaint previously filed in California, obtained by TMZ, Lively laid out her allegations of sexual harassment and what she claims is a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation. Baldoni’s team has called the allegations a false attempt to rehab her reputation.
According to that complaint, things got so bad during filming, there was an all-hands-on-deck meeting to address what she claims was a hostile work environment. Ryan Reynolds, Blake’s husband, was among the attendees.
That complaint lists the demands that were addressed … she says because of Baldoni’s conduct. Among those demands — no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous “pornography addiction,” no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.
The suit claims the demands were embraced and approved by the studio, but there was a huge conflict over how it would be marketed. Blake wanted a more upbeat pitch about her character’s resilience, as per the marketing plan, whereas Baldoni wanted the focus to be on domestic violence and chose to go off script from the plan.
Lively claims Baldoni and company then engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” Lively’s reputation. The suit includes texts from Baldoni’s publicist to the studio publicist which says Baldoni “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried, and “We can’t write we will destroy her.”
The California complaint claims the campaign caused Lively harm to her business and caused her family “severe emotional distress.”
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, lashed out at the complaint, saying it was designed to “fix her negative reputation,” adding the claims are “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.”
In a statement to TMZ, attorneys for Blake Lively said … “Earlier today, Ms. Lively filed a federal complaint against Wayfarer Studios and others in the Southern District of New York. Ms. Lively previously sent her California Civil Rights Department Complaint in response to the retaliatory campaign Wayfarer launched against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Unfortunately, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks. As alleged in Ms. Lively’s federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court. Ms. Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the Complaint took place, but we reserve the right to pursue further action in other venues and jurisdictions as appropriate under the law.”
We’ve reached out to Justin Baldoni’s reps … so far, no word back.
