Latest news with #ThisEndswithUs
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively has been dismissed
A judge dismissed the $400 million countersuit Justin Baldoni brought against Blake Lively. Baldoni accused Lively of defaming him and seizing creative control of "This Ends With Us." Baldoni can still allege Ryan Reynolds tried to get his agent to drop him. It ends with a judge's 132-page opinion. US District Judge Lewis Liman on Monday tossed the $400 million countersuit Justin Baldoni brought against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Baldoni's lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, accused Lively, who was his "This Ends with Us" costar, of taking over his movie and trying to destroy his reputation. The lawsuit, which included his production company Wayfarer Studios and several publicists he worked with as plaintiffs, also alleged that Lively falsely accused him of sexual harassment to gain control over the film's creative direction and promotion. The case was combined with a separate lawsuit against The New York Times and Leslie Sloane, Lively's public relations representative. Baldoni accused Sloane of planting false stories in publications about him, and The New York Times of acting as a "conduit" for Lively's allegations that he sexually harassed her on set. Lively has alleged in a separate lawsuit and in a California Civil Rights Department complaint that Baldoni and his public relations representatives tried to smear her in the press. US District Judge Lewis Liman's Monday decision weighed whether Baldoni's allegations — and the evidence his lawyers collected in court filings — sufficiently proved that the defendants defamed him, and that Lively extorted him by threatening to withhold publicity for "This Ends With Us" unless the movie was made under her own creative vision. Over 132 pages, Liman wrote that Baldoni and his studio couldn't sufficiently prove their claims to bring the case to trial. "The Wayfarer Parties cannot recover for Lively's alleged actions to steal creative control of the film from Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties," he wrote. "Regardless of the propriety of these actions, they do not constitute civil extortion under California law." Lively's allegations against Baldoni — accusing him of sexual harassment, and of his production company violating her employment contract for "This Ends With Us" — still remain alive. Liman is weighing whether to dismiss Lively's lawsuit against Baldoni or let it proceed to trial. Monday's opinion did, however, leave a door open for Baldoni to renew allegations that Lively and Reynolds illegally tried to get WME — the talent agency that represents all three actors — to cut ties with him. According to Baldoni's attorneys, Reynolds approached a WME executive during the premiere of "Deadpool and Wolverine" and told him that Baldoni was a "sexual predator." The agency dropped Baldoni as a client shortly after Lively's complaint against him. A spokesperson for Baldoni didn't immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively has been dismissed
A judge on Monday tossed the $400 million countersuit Justin Baldoni brought against Blake Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, accused Lively, who was Baldoni's "This Ends with Us" costar, of taking over his movie and trying to destroy his reputation. Baldoni also alleged in the suit that Lively falsely accused him of sexual harassment to gain control over the film's creative direction and promotion. The lawsuit was brought by Baldoni, his production company, Wayfarer Studios, and several publicists he worked with. In addition to Lively and Reynolds, it includes The New York Times and Leslie Sloane, Lively's public relations representative, as defendants. Baldoni accused Sloane of planting false stories in publications about him, and The New York Times of acting as a "conduit" for Lively's allegations that he sexually harassed her on set. Lively has alleged in a separate lawsuit and in a California Civil Rights Department complaint that Baldoni and his public relations representatives tried to smear her in the press. US District Judge Lewis Liman's Monday decision weighed whether Baldoni's allegations — and the evidence his lawyers collected in court filings — sufficiently proved that the defendants defamed him, and that Lively extorted him by threatening to withhold publicity for "This Ends With Us" unless the movie was made under her own creative vision. Over 132 pages, Liman wrote that Baldoni and his studio couldn't sufficiently prove their claims to bring the case to trial. "The Wayfarer Parties cannot recover for Lively's alleged actions to steal creative control of the film from Baldoni and the Wayfarer Parties," he wrote. "Regardless of the propriety of these actions, they do not constitute civil extortion under California law." The opinion did, however, leave a door open for Baldoni to renew allegations that Lively and Reynolds illegally tried to get WME — the talent agency that represents all three actors — to cut ties with him. According to Baldoni's attorneys, Reynolds approached a WME executive during the premiere of "Deadpool and Wolverine" and told him that Baldoni was a "sexual predator." The agency dropped Baldoni as a client shortly after Lively's complaint against him. A spokesperson for Baldoni didn't immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.
Fox News
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Blake Lively accuses Justin Baldoni's lawyer of attempting to 'torpedo' actress's career 'for good'
Actress Blake Lively has "growing concerns" about co-star Justin Baldoni's legal team, specifically the alleged "continued extrajudicial misconduct" of Baldoni's main counsel, Bryan Freedman, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Lively, 37, claimed that Freedman has "made it clear that his priority is to 'torpedo Blake Lively's career for good,'" nearly one month after she sued Baldoni, his Wayfarer studio and former PR reps. The same day Lively filed her suit, Baldoni, 41, filed a $250 million suit against the New York Times for a December article about the alleged smear campaign. On Jan. 16, Baldoni then named Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, in a separate defamation lawsuit, and accused the Hollywood power couple of attempting to hijack his "This Ends with Us" film and create their own smear campaign against him. Baldoni requested $400 million in damages. "The irony continues to be rich for team Lively/Reynolds," Freedman told Fox News Digital. "Our intention with the upcoming website is to do the exact opposite of what they themselves did when they gave provably false information to the New York Times. "We will not be selective, we will not cherry-pick and we will not doctor text messages. Both Ms. Lively and Mr. Reynolds do not yet understand that there isn't one rule for them and one rule for everybody else. If they want to unethically gag the truth by threatening to wield their power in Hollywood, we will fight it every step of the way. We are not scared of them, we will not be silenced by them. Defending ourselves is not retaliation, it is a human right." Representatives for Lively did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. WATCH: JUSTIN BALDONI RELEASES UNEDITED 'IT ENDS WITH US' FOOTAGE FEATURING BLAKE LIVELY In the letter filed Monday, Lively's legal team claimed that Freedman has "made it apparent that he is engaging in this extrajudicial campaign to influence these proceedings and the public perception of legal filings to this Court, and there already is a serious risk that his misconduct is tainting the jury pool." "He further has made it clear that his priority is to 'torpedo Blake Lively's career for good' by, among other things, creating a website to release strategically selected documents and communications between Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni," the filing stated. Lively's team alleged that a planned website where Baldoni would release "full unedited WhatsApp, text and email exchanges between Lively and Baldoni" would be "incomplete, biased, and prejudicial by design." "The endless stream of defamatory and extrajudicial media statements must end," the documents stated. "It will not stop without this Court's intervention. The Wayfarer Defendants' efforts are being financed by a billionaire who has pledged to spend $100 million to ruin the lives of Ms. Lively and her family. Mr. Freedman is using that money, his roster of current and former clients, and a blatant media and social media strategy to assassinate Ms. Lively's character in advance of trial." Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more made by Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department and later in federal court. Some of the issues allegedly addressed at an "all-hands" meeting before filming began included no more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively, no more mention of Baldoni's previous "pornography addiction," no more discussions about personal experiences with sex, no more descriptions of their own genitalia, no more adding sex scenes outside what was in the original script, no more discussions about Lively's weight or deceased father and more. However, Baldoni insisted Lively "falsely" accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation after the fallout around the movie's press tour after she took control of the film. Baldoni's legal team claimed Lively had no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead worked to repair her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment.
