Justin Baldoni Sues Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400 Million Alleging Defamation, Extortion over It Ends With Us

Justin Baldoni, star and director of “It Ends With Us,” sued his co-star Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and Lively’s publicist Leslie Sloane in New York federal court Thursday, accusing them of defamation and extortion.

Attorneys for the actor-director, 40, filed a $400 million lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, Jan. 16 on behalf of Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan, claiming Lively, 37, took measures to gain control of the hit movie.

He’s suing on claims of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

Reps for Lively, Reynolds and Sloane did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

In a statement, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman says: “This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media. 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. Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.”

“Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too,” the statement continues. “Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.”

Lively has already sued Baldoni and his associates, making claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni.

Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman previously indicated that they intended to sue during a Jan. 2 interview with NBC News, adding at the time, “We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts.”

Lively’s allegations in her Dec. 20 complaint said Baldoni’s alleged behavior while making It Ends With Us and during its promotion caused her “grief, fear, trauma and extreme anxiety.”

Baldoni’s new lawsuit comes after he sued The New York Times Dec. 31 for libel in response to its article “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” The suit alleges the newspaper used “‘cherry-picked’ and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead” in its article about Lively’s complaint.

The New York Times defended its article as “meticulously and responsibly reported.” Lively said within that story: “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.”

via: People

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