Blake Lively is reportedly preparing for whatever challenges the new year may bring, formally filing a lawsuit against Justin Baldoni just weeks after her sexual harassment allegations against him became public.
The Gossip Girl star, 37, filed her lawsuit on New Year’s Eve, the same day Baldoni launched a $250 million defamation case against the New York Times for its explosive coverage of her initial complaint. Lively.
Lively accused Baldoni of creating a toxic work environment during the production of It Ends With Us, accusations that Baldoni has strongly denied.
On Friday, DailyMail.com exclusively reported that Baldoni plans to file an ‘explosive countersuit’ once the courts reopen after the New Year holidays.
Still, Lively shows no signs of backing down.
According to a source who spoke with People As of Tuesday, the actress has been in regular contact with her legal team and “knows she’s going to have an explosive start to the new year.”
Blake Lively is reportedly preparing for whatever challenges the new year may bring, including possible retaliation from Justin Baldoni after she accused him of sexual harassment earlier this month; (seen in August)
According to a source who spoke to People on Tuesday, the actress has been in regular contact with her legal team and is fully prepared for the coming storm; (Baldoni in December)
“She still believes she is doing the right thing. “She is ready to face anything that comes her way,” they added.
For now, the source shared that Lively is finding strength in her loved ones and feels “so lucky to be surrounded by the most loving family and most supportive friends,” including her husband Ryan Reynolds and their four children.
“Ryan does everything he can every day to relieve her stress and support her,” the source added of Reynolds, 48.
In her 80-page lawsuit, Blake accuses Justin of inappropriate behavior on the set of It Ends With Us, including entering her makeup trailer while she was topless, showing her explicit photos and a graphic birth video, discussing her “addiction to pornography” and commenting on her own genitals, and even biting and kissing her during an improvised scene, insisting on multiple takes.
Rumors of tension between the two began circulating over the summer when they appeared to avoid each other during the film’s promotional tour, escalating into a full-blown legal battle after Lively’s lawsuit was filed last week.
Now, Baldoni is preparing to file a countersuit as soon as the courts reopen after the New Year.
The countersuit will claim that Lively’s team, not Baldoni, is behind the smear campaign.
He will also question the authenticity of emails, text messages and WhatsApp messages from Baldoni’s publicists, claiming they were misinterpreted.
“She knows she’s going to have an explosive start to the new year,” the source revealed; (seen in December)
It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestseller, was released in August and was a box office hit, grossing more than $350 million against a production budget of $25 million.
Additionally, the countersuit will accuse Lively’s powerful publicist, Leslie Sloane, of planting damaging stories about Baldoni in the media.
Lively said in her complaint that Baldoni and select associates worked together to instigate a negative public campaign at her expense, intended to diminish her reputation.
“I hope that my legal action will help uncover these sinister retaliation tactics to harm people who report misconduct and help protect others who may be targeted,” Lively told the New York Times.
Baldoni has denied all allegations made in Lively’s lawsuit.
Since the legal filing, Baldoni has faced several repercussions, including a lawsuit from a former publicist and being dropped from the WME agency, which also represents Lively and Reynolds.
On December 24, Vital Voices announced that it had revoked the Voices of Solidarity Award awarded to Baldoni earlier that month.