The actress’ lawyers are calling out Baldoni for seemingly trying to distract from the allegations made against him by placing “blame” on Lively.
This comes after Blake Lively filed a complaint alleging that Justin Baldoni launched a PR campaign to damage her reputation, which has caused harm to her businesses.
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Blake Lively’s Legal Team Calls Out Justin Baldoni
Lively’s legal team is speaking out against Justin Baldoni, accusing him of launching “more attacks” at the actress.
In a statement to People Magazine, her lawyers strongly defended her sexual harassment claims, stating that they are “backed by concrete facts.”
“This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation,” the lawyers noted.
They continued, “As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer [Studios] and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set.”
They also accused Baldoni and his team of escalating attacks on Lively since she filed her complaint.
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“Their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing,” they said, adding: “Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and in every industry.”
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The Lawyers Claim Justin Baldoni Is Trying To Distract From The Allegations By ‘Blaming The Victim’
Breaking down typical manipulation tactics used by perpetrators, Lively’s lawyers claimed that Baldoni and his team are trying to accuse the actress of being the cause of the issues to “distract” from the allegations brought against him.
They said, “A classic tactic to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct is to ‘blame the victim’ by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied.”
Lively’s legal team continued, “Another classic tactic is to reverse the victim and offender, and suggest that the offender is actually the victim. These concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct.”
Finally, Lively’s legal team made it clear that media statements would not affect the merits of her case.
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“Most importantly, media statements are not a defense to Ms. Lively’s legal claims,” they noted. “We will continue to prosecute her claims in federal court, where the rule of law determines who prevails, not hyperbole and threats.”
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The Actress Says Her Businesses Have Been Harmed By A ‘Smear Campaign’
In a complaint filed on New Year’s Eve, Lively alleged that Baldoni’s smear campaign caused significant “financial harm” to her businesses that “continues to the present.”
According to the “IF” actress, the backlash she faced has severely impacted her business ventures, including her haircare line, Blake Brown, and her two beverage brands, Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, resulting in substantial sales losses.
The legal documents obtained by the Daily Mail state that sales for Blake Brown plummeted by as much as 78% following the onset of the “social manipulation campaign.”
“Based on internal sales projections, the sudden and unexpected negative media campaign launched against Ms. Lively depressed retail sales of Blake Brown products by 56-78 percent,” the lawsuit read.
It further argues that this sharp decline in sales “was completely at odds with the high satisfaction scores that Blake Brown products received in the significant consumer testing performed before launch or its initial success after launch.”
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Blake Lively And Justin Baldoni’s Lawsuit Drama
The actress starred alongside Baldoni in “It Ends With Us,” a film released in August 2024 and now streaming on Netflix.
However, following months of rumors of a feud between the co-stars, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, claiming Baldoni had sexually harassed her on set and created a toxic work environment.
The day after her complaint, The New York Times published a piece detailing how Baldoni allegedly enlisted a crisis PR firm to “bury” Lively’s reputation and undermine her credibility.
In response, the 37-year-old actress sued Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.
Baldoni countered by filing a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the publication, accusing them of promoting an “unverified and self-serving narrative.”
The actor’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has also announced their plans to release text messages between Baldoni and Lively.
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Justin Baldoni Plans To Release Texts In Response To Blake Lively’s Lawsuit
Baldoni’s attorney, Freedman, revealed in a statement to NBC that Baldoni intends to pursue legal action directly against Lively.
He said, “We plan to release every single text message between the two of them [sic]. 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 lawsuit reportedly includes screenshots of text messages between Baldoni and his associates, Abel and Nathan, detailing an alleged coordinated effort to damage her reputation.
Freedman criticized the disclosure of these private exchanges, arguing that the messages lack “critical context.”
The lawyer claims that the full-text exchange, which they will release, contradicts Lively’s claims that Baldoni entered her trailer without permission while she was undressed or breastfeeding.