Actor Justin Baldoni is suing fellow actor Blake Lively and her publicist for US$400 million (A$643.99 million), claiming that Lively and her husband actor Ryan Reynolds hijacked the production of It Ends With Us and sought to “destroy him” with false sexual harassment allegations.
The 179-page complaint filed in the United States southern district of New York is the latest swing in a bitter legal battle between the two co-stars. Baldoni directed and starred alongside Lively in the Colleen Hoover adaptation with the California Civil Rights commissions detailing sexual harassment by Baldoni during production and a smear campaign to ruin Livley’s reputation through artificial social media activity and planned stories.
In a statement, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman said Lively attempted to “destroy” Baldoni.
"It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret,” he said.
“Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth."
Freedman also said he and Baldoni have “nothing to hide”.
Lively filed her lawsuit against Baldoni, his producing partner Jamey Heath and his publicists Jennifer Abel and Melissa Nathan for the smear campaign on 21 December after text messages between Baldoni and his team were published in a New York Times report.
This led to Baldoni and his team suing the New York Times in a US$250 million lawsuit.
“What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals,” Freedman said in a statement to the New York Times.
In the current lawsuit against Lively, Freedman promised there would be more lawsuits to come.
“At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press,” he said.
“This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio.”