Justin Baldoni is preparing to file an explosive counter-complaint against Blake Lively after her recent sexual harassment allegations on the set of It Ends With Us.
Justin Baldoni is reportedly getting ready to file a counter-complaint against Blake Lively, after the actress accused him of sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. According to reports, Baldoni’s legal team is preparing to submit documents when the courts reopen after New Year’s Day.
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, told Deadline that the counter-complaint will be a major development. “I am not going to speak to when or how many lawsuits we are filing but when we file our first lawsuit, it is going to shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” Freedman said.
He also added that the lawsuit will be supported by real evidence, presenting the true story. Freedman stated the scale of the alleged media manipulation, calling it the worst he had seen in his 30 years of practice.
“It reminds me of what NBC tried to do to Megyn Kelly and Gabrielle Union, and we all know how that ended up. Standby,” Freedman remarked, hinting that the legal battle could take a similar turn.
The situation escalated when reports surfaced that Baldoni’s team would flip Lively’s narrative. The complaint is said to accuse Lively’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, of orchestrating a smear campaign against Baldoni.
Sloane responded to the claims in a statement to Deadline, calling them false. “It’s clear that Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Associates are suggesting that I originated press stories about HR complaints on set, which is false,” Sloane said.
She urged the public to read both Lively’s complaint and a separate complaint filed by Jonesworks LLC and Stephanie Jones, which she claims provide details of the campaign against her client.
Baldoni’s legal team is also preparing to challenge texts allegedly obtained by Lively via a subpoena. These texts were believed to suggest that Baldoni’s team was working to bury Lively’s reputation.
However, Baldoni’s team argues that the texts were misrepresented. According to the report, the upcoming counter-complaint will allege that Lively filed her complaint in an effort to rebuild her reputation after facing negative press during the promotion of It Ends With Us earlier this year.
