LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� actor and director Justin Baldoni has sued his co-star and her husband, 鈥淒eadpool鈥� actor , for defamation and extortion on Thursday in the latest move in a bitter legal battle surrounding the dark romantic drama.
The suit filed in federal court in New York by Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios seeks at least $400 million for damages that include lost future income. It alleges that Lively and Reynolds hijacked the production and marketing of 鈥淚t Ends With Us" and manipulated media to smear Baldoni and others on the production with false allegations of sexual and other harassment.
鈥淭his is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio,鈥� the suit says. 鈥淭hen, when Lively and Reynolds鈥� efforts failed to win them the acclaim they believed they so richly deserved, they turned their fury on their chosen scapegoat.鈥�
The lawsuit comes about two weeks after and several others tied to the film, alleging they retaliated against her for coming forward about her treatment on the set. That lawsuit came just hours after Baldoni sued the New York Times for libel, alleging the paper worked with Lively to smear him.
An email sent to publicist Leslie Sloane 鈥� who is also named as a defendant 鈥� seeking comment was not immediately answered.
The Times said it stood by its reporting and planned to 鈥渧igorously defend鈥� against the allegations.
鈥淚t Ends With Us,鈥� based on the was released in August and with a $50 million debut. It begins as a standard romantic drama before taking a dark turn into domestic violence.
The film's release was shrouded by speculation over , and the fallout has made make major waves in Hollywood and led to discussions of the treatment of female actors both on sets and in media.
鈥淗eartbreakingly, a film that Baldoni envisioned years ago would honor the survivors of domestic violence by telling their story, with the lofty goal of making a positive impact in the world, has now been overshadowed beyond recognition solely as a result of Lively鈥檚 actions and cruelty,鈥� the lawsuit says.
Allegations from Lively that she was shown pornography and subjected to unwanted discussions about it from Baldoni and a producer were utterly false, the suit alleges.
鈥淟ively was so close and comfortable with Baldoni that she freely breast-fed in front of him during meetings,鈥� the suit says.
She would later take moments like these that she encouraged and recast them as sexual harassment and misconduct from Baldoni, the lawsuit alleges.
It also says that counter to Lively's allegations, every request she made for an intimacy coordinator to help with sensitive scenes on the film was honored. It focuses especially on a a birthing scene, saying Lively's contention that she was 鈥渕ostly nude鈥� with non-essential people present including the film's financier were "knowingly false."
鈥淟ively was wearing black briefs and a pregnancy suit that covered her midsection, and her top was covered by a hospital gown,鈥� the suit says.
Baldoni says that at another point during the production, because he has back problems, he privately and politely asked Lively her weight so that he could work with his personal trainer to be able to safely lift her in the film.
Reynolds later 鈥渟wore at Baldoni and accused him of fat-shaming his wife," the suit says.
鈥淚n fact, Lively had earlier expressed insecurity about her postpartum figure, and Baldoni made every attempt to genuinely reassure her,鈥� his lawsuit says.
Baldoni took a backseat in promoting the film while Lively took center stage along with Reynolds, who was on the press circuit for at the same time.
Baldoni says the 鈥渢one-deaf鈥� and 鈥渄isastrous鈥� moves from Lively that led to her attempt at a counter-narrative included naming a drink at the post-premiere party 鈥淩yle You Wait,鈥� after the character who engages in domestic violence.
The backlash against Baldoni led to his being dropped by his agency WME, which also represents both Lively and Reynolds,
The suit alleges Reynolds was responsible for this, saying that he approached a WME executive at the 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine鈥� premiere and 鈥渆xpressed his deep disdain for Baldoni, suggesting the agency was working with a 鈥榮exual predator.鈥欌��
Prior to 鈥淚t Ends With Us,鈥� Baldoni starred in the TV comedy directed the 2019 film 鈥淔ive Feet Apart,鈥� and wrote 鈥淢an Enough,鈥� a book pushing back against traditional notions of masculinity.
鈥淟ively knew full well that making those allegations would be a career death sentence for Plaintiffs, especially given that Baldoni has lived his private and public life as an impassioned advocate for gender equality and healthy masculinity,鈥� his lawsuit says.
Lively came to fame through the 2005 film 鈥淭he Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,鈥� and bolstered her stardom on the TV series 鈥淕ossip Girl鈥� from 2007 to 2012. She has since starred in films including 鈥淭he Town鈥� and 鈥淭he Shallows.鈥�
Baldoni's lawsuit says Lively's cruelty even extended to having her suit served on Baldoni and his co-defendants during the onset of the , saying that on a day when they were "gathering their kids and pets, preparing 'go bags' and monitoring evacuation orders while fearing for their homes, Lively鈥攆rom the safety of her penthouse in New York鈥� deployed process servers.鈥�
The suit against Baldoni and other defendants was filed on Dec. 31, but the serving of papers as required by law came the following week.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
