Kaylah Walton
Justin Baldoni is gearing up to respond to accusations from Blake Lively, who has alleged sexual harassment during the filming of *It Ends with Us*. She claims that interventions were necessary due to his behavior.
Baldoni, who has openly discussed his struggles with pornography, faces serious allegations including making inappropriate remarks, requesting additional nude scenes not included in the script, and improperly entering her trailer while she was changing, as detailed in an extensive complaint filed in New York.
Additionally, he reportedly made unwanted physical contact and shared sexual anecdotes, causing Lively to feel the need to set “demands” to protect her well-being while working on the film.
His legal team denies the allegations, branding them as manipulative. Baldoni is preparing to countersue Lively, who is married to Ryan Reynolds.
Bryan Freedman, his attorney, plans to file the suit in the New Year, alleging that Lively orchestrated a smear campaign against Baldoni and distorted facts to discredit him.
The lawyer argues that these maneuvers were aimed at improving Lively’s public image, especially after negative publicity surrounding the film coincided with the release of Deadpool and Wolverine.
“The evidence will astonish those misled by a clearly false narrative,” Freedman stated. “This will be substantiated with real proof and reveal the actual events.”
“In my 30+ years as a lawyer, I have never encountered such unethical actions driven by media manipulation. This situation reminds me of past incidents involving NBC and figures like Megyn Kelly and Gabrielle Union,” Freedman noted. “Stay tuned.”
Baldoni faces additional challenges
After being dropped by his representation at WME amid the allegations from Lively, Baldoni’s situation has become more precarious, further complicated by comments from PR executive Leslie Sloane of Vision PR.
Sloane, who represents both Lively and Reynolds, refuted claims that Baldoni’s camp initiated the HR complaint narratives, directing attention back to the actress’s original claims.
“I received an anonymous tip about HR complaint allegations on 8/11 from Sara Nathan,” Sloane explained. “Following this, numerous media outlets reached out for details regarding these allegations.”
“My responses referred inquiries back to Wayfarer or Sony for factual information concerning HR issues. It is evident that Mr. Baldoni’s team is falsely insinuating that I was the source of these HR complaint reports,” Sloane clarified.
“I encourage you to review Ms. Lively’s formal complaint alongside that from Jonesworks LLC and Stephanie Jones for clarity on the campaign against my client.”
