Blake Lively Alleges 'Harasser' Co-Star Justin Baldoni Is Deploying 'Abuser Handbook' in His $400Million Lawsuit Against Her and Husband Ryan Reynolds
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have angrily hit back at Justin Baldoni's claims in his $400million lawsuit against the couple.
Jan. 17 2025, Published 12:24 p.m. ET
Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni of using the "abuser handbook" in his $400million lawsuit against the actress and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
RadarOnline.com can reveal Lively, 37, and Reynolds, 48, were hitting back against Baldoni's claims the couple are using their combined star power to hijack the domestic abuse movie It Ends With Us, which Baldoni co-starred in and directed.
Lively's attorneys described Baldoni's lawsuit as 'another chapter in the abuser playbook'.
The couple were were sued for defamation on Thursday by Baldoni and his publicists, who say the actress cooked up a scheme to kill their careers and discredit them by making false accusations of sexual harassment.
The new defamation action is the latest broadside in an increasingly toxic legal battle that began just before Christmas when Lively sued Baldoni, claiming he sexually harassed her and created a toxic work environment on the set of the film.
He has staunchly denied the allegations.
In response to his new lawsuit, Lively's attorneys issued a fiery statement, saying: "This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook."
Reynolds has backed his wife in her legal battle with Baldoni.
They added: "This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender."
The statement alleged Baldoni's production company Wayfarer Studios "opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public's ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations."
Baldoni accused Lively of relegating Baldoni and his family to the basement after arriving on the red carpet for the movie's premiere.
Lively's attorneys added: "They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr Baldoni.
"The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer.
"The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony's cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success."
They continued: "Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it's her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing."
The statement concluded: "In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively's complaint, and it will fail."
Lively accused her It Ends With Us co-star of sexual harassment in her legal complaint.
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In Baldoni's new lawsuit, he accuses Lively muscling in on production despite allegedly failing to read the book until filming was well under way.
The hijack allegedly went as far as relegating Baldoni and his family to the basement after arriving on the red carpet for the movie's premiere on August 6, 2024, because "Lively demanded he not attend".
The suit said: "Security personnel, acting as though there was a risk of 'escape,' escorted Baldoni's group to the basement of the building.
"There, they were confined to a makeshift holding area surrounded by concession stand stock, with only foldout tables and chairs arranged in a square."
In addition to not reading the book before filming started, the lawsuit claims she initially pushed back on having to read it at all.
And despite the novel's dark subject matter, Lively allegedly failed to take it seriously during the promotional campaign — even naming a cocktail after the abusive lead male character.
This, the filing says, is evidence of the "insensitivity" that sparked an "organic backlash to the actress last summer".
She also refused to meet with the domestic violence charity Baldoni had paired up with while promoting the film, according to the claim.
