‘Aggressive’ Ryan Reynolds named in Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni lawsuit as battle gets messy

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have now been accused of bullying by her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, in the latest bombshell lawsuit.

The messy battle continues as both opposing parties continue legal proceedings.

Lively’s latest move has seen her asking for both ‘punitive’ and ‘compensatory’ damages and a jury trial. She is claiming that defendants Baldoni, his publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis PR Melissa Nathan have caused her ‘mental pain and anguish,’ as well as ‘severe and serious emotional distress’ and ‘lost wages.’

Meanwhile, Baldoni, 40, is countersuing but his lawsuit is directed at New York Times, who published an article entitled ‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine. The report included allegations that Baldoni and his team set out to try to create a negative portryal of Lively.

He has instead claimed that Lively’s husband Reynolds ‘berated’ him during a meeting held at their home on January 4. Also at the meeting were other It Ends With Us producers and a representative of Sony. Baldoni alleges that Reynolds, 48, ‘aggressively’ accused him of ‘fat shaming’ 37-year-old Lively.

‘They arrived eager to discuss plans for the next day’s filming, prepared with their production materials. Instead, they were blindsided by Lively and Reynolds, who presented a list of grievances that were both unanticipated and troubling,’ the legal document reads, the Daily Mail reports.

Baldoni also says that he was asked to apologise for actions against Lively that he believes were mischaracterised and demonstrably false. He claims that he’s ‘never been spoken to like that in his life’ and his refusal to express regret further enraged Deadpool actor Reynolds.

Further claims include that Lively took over the movie project from him – Baldoni was a producer on the film, she wouldn’t allow him attend an It Ends With Us premiere, and refused to walk the red carpet with him. He also says Reynolds approached Baldoni’s agent at William Morris Endeavor and demanded that the agent ‘drop’ him.

Tactics were employed by Lively and Reynolds to damage him, Baldoni summarised.

Attorneys for Blake Lively shared a statement regarding the lawsuit with Metro: ‘Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today.

‘This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms. Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice “not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,” and that “litigation was never her ultimate goal.” 

‘As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false. While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.’

In December, former Gossip Girl actress Lively was the first to instigate legal proceedings against Baldoni, alleging he sexually harassed her on set and subjected her to a smear campaign with the intention of damaging her reputation following the release of their movie in August.

At the time she said: ‘I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.’

On Tuesday Lively officially filed a lawsuit against Baldoni in a federal court in New York. In court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the star claimed Baldoni, his studio Wayfarer, and his public relations managers Nathan and Abel, orchestrated a campaign against her as retaliation for speaking out over alleged sexual misconduct on the set.

In a statement, the 37-year-old’s lawyers alleged she had been subjected to ‘further retaliation’ after an article revealing her claims against Baldoni was published in The New York Times on 21 December.

In a statement from Lively’s attorneys, regarding her federal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, they 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.’

In the complaint, Lively alleged she had told producers that she was concerned about Baldoni’s behaviour on set and claimed that he improvised ‘physical intimacy’ scenes without rehearsal or an intimacy coordinator.

She also alleged Baldoni attempted to add a graphic sex scene to It Ends with Us, based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, without any discussion.

Elsewhere, Lively claimed she had inappropriate interactions with Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath, with her reporting that they entered her trailer unannounced while she was getting ready on multiple occasions.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants star also alleged she reported Baldoni and Heath’s behaviour to superiors, but her concerns weren’t taken further.

Previously, lawyer Bryan Freedman denied all of Lively’s claims against his client, Baldoni.

Around the same time the actress filed the new lawsuit, 10 plaintiffs – including Baldoni, Heath, Nathan and Abel – sued The New York Times for $250 million (£199 million) in a complaint lodged in a court in Los Angeles.

They are suing the newspaper for libel and false light invasion of privacy (this tort protects people from having misleading or damaging information about them made public) over the article about Lively’s allegations, claiming that journalists ‘cherry-picked’ information and ‘altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead’.

A representative for the publication insisted the story was ‘meticulously and responsibly reported’ and they plan to ‘vigorously defend’ the lawsuit.

Metro has contacted Reynolds, Lively and Baldoni’s representatives for comment.

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