Blake Lively’s legal battle against Justin Baldoni has been “incredibly stressful” for her.
a new People The report offers a behind-the-scenes look at Lively’s legal filing against Baldoni, which came several months after the actress, 37, bore the brunt of negative publicity for It Ends With Us amid suspicions of a dispute between her and Baldoni.
Last week, the matter escalated when Lively filed a legal complaint against Baldoni, 40, alleging that he sexually harassed her on the set of his movie before orchestrating a smear campaign against her with his publicists after she complain about his alleged behavior.
A source shared with People that Blake and her inner circle have been crafting her latest lawsuit “for months.”
They go on to describe how the affair has put Lively under an incredible amount of stress.
‘Blake along with his team have been working on this lawsuit for months. It really has been very ugly for her. And tremendously stressful. “I’ve never dealt with anything like this before,” a source told People.
Blake Lively’s legal battle against Justin Baldoni has been “incredibly stressful” for her; pictured October 2024
Lively’s support system amid the legal battle has been her husband Ryan Reynolds, with whom she shares three children.
And since the complaint was filed, she has focused on her family.
“Ryan is always his rock,” a source told the outlet. “For now, she has said what needed to be said.”
In Lively’s legal complaint, which typically precedes a formal lawsuit, Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her during production of the film in multiple ways.
Lively said in the legal complaint that Baldoni had broken into her trailer while she was breastfeeding her son; spoke about his past addiction to adult films; discussed past sexual experiences with non-consensual implications; and they questioned her about details of her “intimate life.”
Lively’s legal team said in the complaint that Baldoni “routinely demeaned her by finding underhanded ways to criticize her body and weight.”
In response to Lively calling out the alleged behavior, the actress claims Baldoni hired a crisis PR team to engage in a “multi-level” scheme to “destroy” her reputation after she and Reynolds, 48, , they will complain about “repeated sexual harassment.” and other disruptive behavior’ on set.
“I hope that my legal action will help lift the curtain on these sinister retaliation tactics to harm people who report misconduct and help protect others who may be targeted,” Lively said. The New York Times.
Baldoni has denied all claims against him in Lively’s legal filing.
In Lively’s legal complaint, which typically precedes a formal lawsuit, Lively accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her during production of the film in multiple ways.
In response to Lively calling out the alleged behavior, the actress claims Baldoni hired a crisis PR team to engage in a “multi-level” scheme to “destroy” her reputation after she and Reynolds, 48, , they will complain about “repeated sexual harassment.” and other disruptive behavior on set
In the wake of Lively’s legal filing, Baldoni has faced a series of fallout, including a lawsuit from a former publicist; and being fired by the WME agency, which also represents Lively and Reynolds.
The organization Voces Vitales said in a Dec. 24 statement that it had rescinded an honor given to the actor and director earlier this month, the Voces Solidarias Award.
“The Voices of Solidarity Award honors outstanding men who have shown courage and compassion in standing up for women and girls,” the group said.
Vital Voices later said the allegations in the complaint filed by Lively were “disturbing,” “abhorrent,” and “contrary to the values” she holds dear, leading it to revoke the honors for Baldoni.
On the heels of Dailymail.com’s exclusive report on Friday that Baldoni and several associates are preparing to file a countersuit against Lively when courts open on Jan. 2, Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, promised that the content of the filing “will shock everyone.”
“I’m not going to talk about when or how many lawsuits we’re going to file, but when we file our first lawsuit, it will shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” Freedman said Saturday. Deadline.
Freedman said the content of the countersuit “will be supported by real evidence and tell the real story” of how things happened between the creatives and their respective advertising teams.
“In over 30 years of practice, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled through media manipulation,” Freedman told the outlet. ‘It reminds me of what NBC tried to do to Megyn Kelly and Gabrielle Union and we all know how it ended. Support.’
Baldoni has faced severe backlash since Lively’s legal filing surfaced; photographed earlier this month
Expected claims made in the alleged upcoming countersuit, as previously reported by Dailymail.com, include allegations that Lively’s associates deceive by posting WhatsApp messages out of context.
Other claims set forth in the countersuit are that Lively’s representative used the media to attack Baldoni’s reputation; and that Lively’s Dec. 20 complaint was filed to save her reputation after a run of negative publicity.
The timing of Lively’s complaint “doesn’t make sense” as presented, a source previously told Dailymail.com.
“Do you really think that Blake Lively, married to one of the most powerful men in the city and represented by one of the most powerful publicists, will just sit back meekly if she is sexually harassed on a film set, and then put up with it for a while?” ?” Four months after the film’s release before filing a complaint? the informant asked.
The source confirmed that while Lively and Baldoni ‘never got along’ and ‘got angry at each other,’ the actress ‘has taken snippets of conversations they had when he was trying to be her friend, when they were friendly, and weaponized them.’