Blake Lively assembles squad of activists to accuse Justin Baldoni of 'abandoning' MeToo message

Daily Mail​

13 hours ago

Blake Lively took aim at Justin Baldoni Thursday amid her ongoing litigation with her It Ends with Us collaborator, saying that women's groups are abandoning him in droves.
A total of '19 leading survivors and organizations devoted to women's rights, children's rights and domestic violence have now signed onto four separate amicus briefs,' a spokesperson for the 37-year-old actress told Us Weekly in a statement Thursday.
The statement continued: 'All are united in opposing Justin Baldoni's attempt to dismantle a law designed to protect women who speak up — simply to protect himself.'
Lively's team said that Baldoni is going against his own playbook as the complicated legal case progresses, leaving himself open to increased scrutiny in the wake of his past public statements.
'Rather than defend his case on the facts, Baldoni is now contradicting years of his own public persona — abandoning the message of his #MeToo YouTube 's, podcasts, TED Talks, and interviews, where he once upon a time urged men 'to listen to the women in your life … to hold their anguish and actually believe them, even if what they're saying is against you,' Lively's rep said.
Dailymail.com has reached out to reps for Lively and Baldoni for further comment on this story.
Lively's team said, 'All are united in opposing Justin Baldoni's attempt to dismantle a law designed to protect women who speak up — simply to protect himself.'
The statement wrapped up: 'These women and organizations are sounding the alarm about his DARVO tactics, and the chilling effect they could have well beyond this case.'
Lively on Thursday shared to Instagram a series of posts in which she engaged in a meet and greet in support of her beauty brand.
She was seen addressing people who showed up for a hot Pilates session.
Numerous products from her Blake Brown beauty brand were on display at the promotional event, where she posed for a shot with social media star Erika Priscilla.
Lively has accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in a lawsuit; while Baldoni accused Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane of defamation and extortion in a $400 million suit.
Baldoni has denied the allegations brought about by Lively, while Lively, Reynolds and Sloane have denied the accusations made in litigation by Baldoni.
Baldoni's team has released a website which includes private communications such as text messages that were included in court filings detailing his interactions with the Hollywood power couple over the making of romantic drama.
He claimed in court filings they made efforts made to usurp and undermine his input as the director of It Ends with Us.
Baldoni's team previously said that the communications shared in court filings on the website makes things clear about the motives of both parties.
The website, which is live online at thelawsuitinfo.com, comes amid a spate of high-profile litigation between the collaborators on the film, which was a hit at the box office last August.
Lively filed an 80-page civil rights complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni December 20, before officially filing a federal lawsuit on December 31.
Lively in December sued Baldoni amid claims of sexual harassment during production of the motion picture. In her lawsuit, the Gossip Girl alum accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her in multiple ways - including body shaming her - and orchestrating a smear campaign against her to damage her reputation.
Baldoni and his reps have said in response to the lawsuit that Lively twisted the meaning of text messages and mislead the public about their interactions while making the motion picture.
In her lawsuit, Lively named a number of Baldoni's collaborators, including his company Wayfarer Studios, the studio's CEO and financial backer, and PR personnel Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel.
'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,' Lively told The New York Times the day after she filed the complaint.
Baldoni subsequently sued the newspaper for $250 million in a defamation claim over a December 21 story titled '"We Can Bury Anyone": Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine;' the newspaper has denied the allegations.
Baldoni on January 16 filed a $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Sloane, alleging defamation and extortion. Baldoni told the court the trio had concocted 'false accusations of sexual harassment' against him.
Since Lively's complaint was filed, Baldoni has faced a number of professional consequences, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being dropped by the agency WME, which also reps Lively and Reynolds.
WME has denied claims that Lively and Reynolds leaned on them to release Baldoni from their client roster, according to Variety.
Lawyers for both parties were in accordance with a plan to compound both federal cases filed into one moving forward. All parties to the litigations have denied the allegations against them.
It Ends with Us, which also starred Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Brandon Sklenar and Kevin McKidd, arrived in theaters August 9 and was a hit with audiences. The film, adapted from the 2016 Colleen Hoover novel, earned $148 million in domestic box office, and $350 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
Lively broke out with the 2005 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants opposite Amber Tamblyn, Alexis Bledel and America Ferrera. That led to her high-profile role on the TV show Gossip Girl, which she starred on from 2007-2012, playing lead character Serena van der Woodsen.
She has also appeared in movies such as 2010's The Town, 2016's The Shallows, 2018's A Simple Favor and 2020's The Rhythm Section.
Prior to It Ends with Us, Baldoni was best known for playing the role of Rafael Solano on the TV show Jane the Virgin from 2014–2019. He also has directed films including 2019's Five Feet Apart and 2020's Clouds, and penned the 2021 book Man Enough, which tackled misconceptions of contemporary masculinity.