Blake Lively doesn't give in Justin Baldoniis a monumental legal challenge…and she says his $400 million lawsuit is straight out of the abuser's playbook.
Blake responded to Justin's lawsuit with a scathing statement on Thursday, saying, “This is a story as old as time: a woman comes forward with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the perpetrator tries to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call a “reverse victim offender.”
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According to Lively, Justin and his production company are doing everything they can to “overwhelm the public into understanding that what they are doing is retaliation against allegations of sexual harassment.”
As we already told you … Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios filed a federal lawsuit against Blake, Ryan Reynolds and Blake's publicists Leslie Sloane This week he accused Blake and Leslie of an alleged campaign to vilify Baldoni and take control of It Ends With Us.
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Blake fights back, saying… “They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming she has taken creative control and alienating the cast from Mr. Baldoni. The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative views.” The experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee the Sony cut of the film, which was then used for distribution was selected and was a complete success.”
As early as May 2023 – when the film was first filmed – Baldoni claimed that Lively pursued a “takeover” strategy because she wanted creative control over the film.
He also mentions a meeting at Blake and Ryan's penthouse in New York to discuss a rewrite of the script… a meeting that Baldoni sees as more of an ambush than a collaboration.
Taylor Swift Baldoni even showed up during that supposed meeting, Baldoni claims… and he included a text showing Blake Lively comparing himself to Daenerys Targaryen, a main character in Game of Thrones.
Baldoni makes other claims, including about his experience during a production meeting where Ryan allegedly lashed out at him and claimed that JB sexually harassed Blake. Baldoni also mentions a competition in which the two co-stars each edit their own version of the film.
He is suing Lively, Reynolds and Sloane for defamation, civil extortion, interference with contractual relationships and a host of other allegations – and is seeking as much as $400 million in damages.
Bottom line for Blake… “Her reaction to the sexual harassment allegations: She wanted it, it's her fault. Her reasoning for why this happened to her: Look 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 fail.