Latest news with #IEWU
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends with Us' Double Pulls Back Curtain On 'Tense' Set
Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively's issues on the "It Ends with Us" set weren't known to everyone, but they certainly affected the vibe ... so says Baldoni's stand-in. Thomas Canestraro -- Baldoni's stunt double on the film -- spoke with Daily Mail about his time on set near the end of filming ... admitting it felt "tense" -- and, "There was some discomfort from everybody." Canestaro says the big problem he noticed were the production issues ... claiming he was meant to be on set for just five days -- but, that quickly turned into two weeks. TC remembers wondering why each scene seemed to take so long to shoot ... and, with hindsight, he says the delays make far more sense. Canestraro also claims that Blake's demeanor was far different than he remembered it being when the two met on the set of "A Simple Favor" several years prior. During a promotional shoot which involved Lively on 'ASF' -- where Thomas stripped down to only a "sock" covering his privates -- says he had an "extremely easy time" working with Lively. However, on 'IEWU,' Thomas claims she was more "closed off" ... and, while he thought it was cool that Ryan Reynolds was visiting the set at the time, Thomas now admits it might be because of how difficult the shoot was for Blake. A source close to Blake tells TMZ ... it shouldn't be surprising that she was "closed off" -- given the sexual harassment allegations she later made against Justin. As for his thoughts on Baldoni ... Canestraro says they didn't stay in contact after shooting -- but, he was "extremely friendly." As you know ... Blake and Justin are suing each other -- with Blake alleging Justin sexually harassed her and Justin claiming Blake tried to take over "It Ends with Us" from him. Quite frankly, there are too many developments for us to catch you up on here ... but, check out our video timeline detailing their legal battle. We've reached out to Justin's team ... so far, no word back.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni's IEWU Stunt Double Comments on Blake Lively's Behaviour
A new report reveals what happened behind the scenes of It Ends with Us. The stunt double of Justin Baldoni broke his silence about the film's tense final weeks when he described how the demeanor of Blake Lively shifted during production. His account adds new context to the ongoing legal dispute between the co-stars. Stunt actor Thomas Canestraro, who served as Justin Baldoni's body double on It Ends with Us, has spoken publicly for the first time about the alleged on-set tension involving Blake Lively. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Canestraro said Lively appeared 'closed off' during the final weeks of filming in early 2024, noting a stark contrast from his previous experience with her on A Simple Favor. He shared that he 'had an extremely easy time' working with her on ASF, but on IEWU, 'there was some discomfort from everybody.' Canestraro said he originally signed on for just five days but ended up working for two weeks due to prolonged shooting schedules. He added, 'What I did experience was filming that was taking longer than expected,' implying production issues played a role in the tense environment. He described the set atmosphere as 'tense,' and said Lively's withdrawn behavior stood out compared to their prior collaboration. Canestraro also mentioned that Ryan Reynolds visited the set. At the time, he thought it was 'cool.' Looking back, he believes the visit may have been connected to Lively's emotional state during filming. A source close to Lively told TMZ her 'closed off' behavior wasn't surprising. They cited the sexual harassment allegations she made against Baldoni after production ended. Canestraro described his interactions with Baldoni as friendly but said they haven't stayed in touch. Lively and Baldoni are currently involved in legal disputes. She accuses him of sexual harassment. He claims she tried to take over creative control of the film. Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on The post Justin Baldoni's IEWU Stunt Double Comments on Blake Lively's Behaviour appeared first on Mandatory.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More Than A Simple Favor: Judge Grants Blake Lively's Request To Have 'Improper' Taylor Swift Bullying Claims Tossed Out
Whether they like it or not, Blake Lively and Taylor Swift's friendship and any bad blood between them this week became the heart of Lively's ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni – but it didn't last long. On Wednesday, lawyers for Lively condemned allegations in a letter by Baldoni's main attorney that the actress' team threatened the 'Shake It Off' superstar singer with a public drubbing if she didn't offer a full-throated public support for her old pal as 'scandalous' and 'completely false.' More from Deadline Taylor Swift Blackmailed? Blake Lively's Lawyer Decries 'Scandalous' Claims By Justin Baldoni's Team A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Cruel Subpoena Summer: Taylor Swift Dragged Directly Into Pal Blake Lively's Battle With Justin Baldoni On Thursday, just after Bryan Freedman reiterated his claim about the requested support and threats to 'release private text messages of a personal nature' if the recently subpoenaed Swift wasn't publicly behind Lively, the judge in the multimillion-dollar suit between the IEWU stars shut the whole sideshow down. 'The Letter is improper and must be stricken,' ordered Judge Lewis J. Liman in response to a motion by Lively's side filed mere hours after Freedman's letter. 'It is irrelevant to any issue before this Court and does not request any action from this Court.' Liman (who, as we've mentioned before, is the brother of director Doug Liman) goes on to say of Freedman's letter in his order: 'It concerns a subpoena proceeding in the District of Columbia over which this Court has no authority. The sole purpose of the Letter is to 'promote public scandal' by advancing inflammatory accusations, on information and belief, against Lively and her counsel. It transparently invites a press uproar by suggesting that Lively and her counsel attempted to 'extort' a well-known celebrity. Retaining the Letter on the docket would be of no use to the Court and would allow the Court's docket to serve as a 'reservoir of libelous statements for press consumption.' The same is true for the Wayfarer Parties' subsequent submission, which the Court will strike sua sponte for the same reasons.' 'Counsel is advised that future misuse of the Court's docket may be met with sanctions.' That 'subsequent submission' Judge Liman refers to is another letter from Freedman today that claims to name names – actually, one name specifically. That name is attorney J. Douglas Baldridge. A longtime lawyer for Swift, Baldridge is a partner out of Venables LLP's DC office. Since 2023, the George Washington University Law School graduate has also been the general counsel for Swift's 13 Management. With Venables fighting the 'abuse of the discovery process' subpoena, as the firm termed it in its own filing, that could drag itself and Swift into the the Lively-Baldoni brawl, Freedman offered more details of a potentially explosive call from February. Emphasizing the Super Bowl on February 9 that Swift attended but Lively was absent from, the claimed conversation appears to have sought to stamp out speculation that Swift was distancing herself from Lively due to the latter's dust-up with Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studios, its execs and PR leaders Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. Citing his response to a voicemail from 'a person very closely linked to Taylor Swift,' Freedman said in a corresponding affidavit: 'During the February 14th phone call, which lasted approximately one hour, the speaker told me that they had been informed that J. Douglas Baldridge, counsel for Taylor Swift and a partner at Venable LLP, had received a phone call from Michael Gottlieb, counsel for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds during which Mr. Gottlieb requested, on Ms. Lively' s behalf, that Taylor Swift make a social media statement in support of Ms. Lively given her absence from the Super Bowl that year, and stated that if Ms. Swift failed to do so, Ms. Lively would release 'ten years' of private texts with Ms. Swift. The individual also told me that they had been informed that Mr. Baldridge had accused Mr. Gottlieb of extortion and ended the call.' Neither Baldridge nor reps for Swift responded to request for comment from Deadline on today's filings, letters and Liman's order. However, in response to the now struck filings Thursday by Baldoni's side to have a motion for sanctions rebuffed, and before Liman ruled on the matter, Gottlieb had a new and strongly worded statement for Deadline. 'Another day, another bogus filing designed for click bait,' the Willkie Farr & Gallagher lawyer said. 'We reiterate our unequivocal denial, which Mr. Freedman has now admitted rely completely upon a source, no matter who it is, that doesn't even claim to have witnessed the conversations that Freedman describes, making this triple-hearsay statement as unreliable as information reported from children in a game of telephone,' Gottlieb adds. 'These claims remain completely untethered from reality—to be clear: the conversations as described did not happen, and we will hold Mr. Freedman accountable for his misconduct.' Well-known to be close to Lively and the godmother to one of her children, IEWU soundtrack contributor Swift has made several cameos in various lawsuits and countersuits ever since Lively on December 20 filed her sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with California's Civil Rights Department. In addition to being brought on to the Sony-distributed film's soundtrack, Swift had a walk-on at Lively's NYC apartment at one point during production backing her friend's script rewrites to a cowered Baldoni. Along with the volumes of text message released by all sides, Swift is also mentioned as a 'dragon' for Lively in an exchange between Lively and Baldoni. Still, the subpoena issued earlier this month kicked it up a level or two for the scandal-adverse Swift coming off her record-breaking global Eras Tour that ended in December 2024. Now, while the battle of the Swift subpoena continues in courtsl, it looks like all's good between Lively and 'Bad Blood' singer. For Lively and Baldoni, with parties like the New York Times, Deadpool star Reynolds, various publicists and Lively herself seeking to be dismissed from the sprawling legal actions, the trial date of March 9, 2026 is still on the books. Best of Deadline Where To Watch All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies: Streamers With Multiple Films In The Franchise Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Taylor Swift Blackmailed? Blake Lively's Lawyer Decries 'Scandalous' Claims By Justin Baldoni's Team
The Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively battle over what went down on It Ends With Us and the alleged astroturfing that followed is starting to seem to look a lot like the Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Cassie Ventura case, at least in terms of tactics and texts. In a shocking letter today to the federal judge overseeing the $400 million and more lawsuits between the IEWU stars, Ryan Reynolds, The New York Times, various PR firms, and Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios, the Jane the Virgin alum's main lawyer accuses Lively of threatening to shame her 'Fortnight' pal unless Swift publicly offers strong support. A claim that Lively and Reynolds' lawyer Micheal Gottieb initially said was 'completely false.' Now another lawyer for the Another Simple Favor star is calling an attempt by Bryan Freedman 'to launder scandalous and defamatory allegations about Ms. Lively and opposing counsel into the press.' More from Deadline A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Cruel Subpoena Summer: Taylor Swift Dragged Directly Into Pal Blake Lively's Battle With Justin Baldoni Cassie Ventura Got $20M From Sean Combs In 2023 Settlement, She Reveals In Trial Testimony - Update In a blistering letter of their own just filed with the court and Judge Lewis J. Liman, Lively and Reynolds' Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorney want the correspondence from the pugilistic Freedman struck from the docket — and that might not be the end of it. 'On behalf of our client, Blake Lively, we respectfully move to strike the letter signed by Mr. Bryan Freedman and filed earlier today,' Manatt's Esra Hudson exclaims. 'That letter, which was not filed with any evidentiary support of any kind, much less anything under oath, falsely accuses Ms. Lively, and her counsel, of engaging in 'witness tampering and evidence spoliation' based on an undisclosed anonymous source,' Hudson continues, after Freedman and his Baldoni crew have owned the media with Swift and Lively catfight stories for the past two hours. 'It should be unnecessary to respond to anonymously sourced, baseless, allegations recklessly leveled without any supporting evidence,' the sanctions-threatening letter adds. It is worth stating for the record, however, that each of the allegations in the Freedman Letter is unequivocally and demonstrably false.' While there has been silence from the previously subpoena-served Swift's side amidst all this Wednesday, Lively's lawyers remind Judge Liman of his stern February 3 warning to all sides in this high profile matter that there would be consequences if he saw the case 'litigated in the press.' Heading towards the March 9, 2026 trial start of this matter, that has only just been replaced in the headlines by Sean 'Diddy' Combs' ongoing sex-trafficking trial taking place in lower Manhattan starting this week, only fools and horses would not say this matter hasn't been litigated in the press for ages — and I don't mean fellow defendant the Gray Lady. Certainly, Freedman is a skilled practitioners of legal fireworks that light up the sky and capture everyone's attention – today more than ever as his communication with Judge Liman was picked up worldwide. It's not hard to see why. Freedman's letter in wanting the Swift subpoena enforced says: 'Specifically, the Wayfarer Parties' counsel are informed and believe, based on information from a source who is highly likely to have reliable information, that (i) Ms. Lively requested that Taylor Swift delete their text messages; (ii) Michael Gottlieb of Willkie Farr, counsel for the Lively Defendants, contacted a Venable attorney who represents Ms. Swift and demanded that Ms. Swift release a statement of support for Ms. Lively, intimating that, if Ms. Swift refused to do so, private text messages of a personal nature in Ms. Lively's possession would be released. The Wayfarer Parties' counsel are further informed and believe that a representative of Ms. Swift addressed these inappropriate and apparently extortionate threats in at least one written communication transmitted to Mr. Gottlieb. It is those communications that the Wayfarer Parties seek to obtain by way of subpoena, as they would evidence an attempt to intimidate and coerce a percipient witness in this litigation.' While there is so far no actual evidence of Lively strong arming one of her supposed best and most famous friends in the very manner Diddy is accused of in his criminal case, the fact is IEWU soundtrack contributor Swift has been on the periphery of this multi-million dollar and reputation defining case almost from the jump. Not mentioned when Lively on December 20 filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against Lively, his Wayfarer Studios, execs, and PR chiefs Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel with California's Civil Rights Department. Swift was all but named dropped by Lively as one of her 'Dragons,' along with hubby and Deadpool star Reynolds, in texts that were released by both sides in the IEWU dispute. In no small gesture at the top of fame and cultural real power last summer, Swift also provided her pal's edit of the Sony distributed and Baldoni directed domestic violence themed film with some superstar juice with her 'My Tears Ricochet' tune. Managing to directly stay out the Lively-Baldoni fray (though not the tabloids' speculations of the state of Lively-Swift friendship) until recently, the controversy adverse Swift was quick to slap down the subpoena Baldoni's team served on her at the beginning of this month. 'Given that her involvement was licensing a song for the film, which 19 other artists also did, this document subpoena is designed to use Taylor Swift's name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case,' the Eras Tour performer's spokesperson told Deadline on May 9. When this is all said and done, after the trial is finished, someone is going to be left with quite the reputation, and I don't mean Swift's 2017 album. Best of Deadline Where To Watch All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies: Streamers With Multiple Films In The Franchise Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
More Than A Simple Favor: Judge Grants Blake Lively's Request To Have 'Improper' Taylor Swift Bullying Claims Tossed Out
Whether they like it or not, Blake Lively and Taylor Swift's friendship and any bad blood between them this week became the heart of Lively's ongoing legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni – but it didn't last long. On Wednesday, lawyers for Lively condemned allegations in a letter by Baldoni's main attorney that the actress' team threatened the 'Shake It Off' superstar singer with a public drubbing if she didn't offer a full-throated public support for her old pal as 'scandalous' and 'completely false.' More from Deadline Taylor Swift Blackmailed? Blake Lively's Lawyer Decries 'Scandalous' Claims By Justin Baldoni's Team A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Cruel Subpoena Summer: Taylor Swift Dragged Directly Into Pal Blake Lively's Battle With Justin Baldoni On Thursday, just after Bryan Freedman reiterated his claim about the requested support and threats to 'release private text messages of a personal nature' if the recently subpoenaed Swift wasn't publicly behind Lively, the judge in the multimillion-dollar suit between the IEWU stars shut the whole sideshow down. 'The Letter is improper and must be stricken,' ordered Judge Lewis J. Liman in response to a motion by Lively's side filed mere hours after Freedman's letter. 'It is irrelevant to any issue before this Court and does not request any action from this Court.' Liman (who, as we've mentioned before, is the brother of director Doug Liman) goes on to say of Freedman's letter in his order: It concerns a subpoena proceeding in the District of Columbia over which this Court has no authority. The sole purpose of the Letter is to 'promote public scandal' by advancing inflammatory accusations, on information and belief, against Lively and her counsel. It transparently invites a press uproar by suggesting that Lively and her counsel attempted to 'extort' a well-known celebrity. Retaining the Letter on the docket would be of no use to the Court and would allow the Court's docket to serve as a 'reservoir of libelous statements for press consumption.' The same is true for the Wayfarer Parties' subsequent submission, which the Court will strike sua sponte for the same reasons.' That 'subsequent submission' Liman refers to is another letter from Freedman today that claims to name names – actually, one name specifically. That name is attorney J. Douglas Baldridge. A longtime lawyer for Swift, Baldridge is a partner out of Venables LLP's DC office. Since 2023, the George Washington University Law School graduate has also been the general counsel for Swift's 13 Management. With Venables fighting the 'abuse of the discovery process' subpoena, as the firm termed it in its own filing, that could drag itself and Swift into the the Lively-Baldoni brawl, Freedman offered more details of a potentially explosive call from February. Emphasizing the Super Bowl on February 9 that Swift attended but Lively was absent from, the claimed conversation appears to have sought to stamp out speculation that Swift was distancing herself from Lively due to the latter's dust-up with Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studios, its execs and PR leaders Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. Citing his response to a voicemail from 'a person very closely linked to Taylor Swift,' Freedman said in a corresponding affidavit: 'During the February 14th phone call, which lasted approximately one hour, the speaker told me that they had been informed that J. Douglas Baldridge, counsel for Taylor Swift and a partner at Venable LLP, had received a phone call from Michael Gottlieb, counsel for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds during which Mr. Gottlieb requested, on Ms. Lively' s behalf, that Taylor Swift make a social media statement in support of Ms. Lively given her absence from the Super Bowl that year, and stated that if Ms. Swift failed to do so, Ms. Lively would release 'ten years' of private texts with Ms. Swift. The individual also told me that they had been informed that Mr. Baldridge had accused Mr. Gottlieb of extortion and ended the call.' Neither Baldridge nor reps for Swift responded to request for comment from Deadline on today's filings, letters and Liman's order. However, in response to the now struck filings Thursday by Baldoni's side to have a motion for sanctions rebuffed, and before Liman ruled on the matter, Gottlieb had a new and strongly worded statement for Deadline. 'Another day, another bogus filing designed for click bait,' the Willkie Farr & Gallagher lawyer said. 'We reiterate our unequivocal denial, which Mr. Freedman has now admitted rely completely upon a source, no matter who it is, that doesn't even claim to have witnessed the conversations that Freedman describes, making this triple-hearsay statement as unreliable as information reported from children in a game of telephone,' Gottlieb adds. 'These claims remain completely untethered from reality—to be clear: the conversations as described did not happen, and we will hold Mr. Freedman accountable for his misconduct.' Well-known to be close to Lively and the godmother to one of her children, IEWU soundtrack contributor Swift has made several cameos in various lawsuits and countersuits ever since Lively on December 20 filed her sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with California's Civil Rights Department. In addition to being brought on to the Sony-distributed film's soundtrack, Swift had a walk-on at Lively's NYC apartment at one point during production backing her friend's script rewrites to a cowered Baldoni. Along with the volumes of text message released by all sides, Swift is also mentioned as a 'dragon' for Lively in an exchange between Lively and Baldoni. Still, the subpoena issued earlier this month kicked it up a level or two for the scandal-adverse Swift coming off her record-breaking global Eras Tour that ended in December 2024. Now, while the battle of the Swift subpoena continues in courtsl, it looks like all's good between Lively and 'Bad Blood' singer. For Lively and Baldoni, with parties like the New York Times, Deadpool star Reynolds, various publicists and Lively herself seeking to be dismissed from the sprawling legal actions, the trial date of March 9, 2026 is still on the books. Best of Deadline Where To Watch All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies: Streamers With Multiple Films In The Franchise Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
