Blake Lively and her team are not concerned with Justin Baldoni‘s lawsuit.
Blake was the first to make a legal filing over this — technically not a lawsuit but a California Civil Rights Department complaint, with a “right-to-sue” letter. She then filed her actual federal complaint against the It Ends With Us director on New Year’s Eve.
Justin, his team at Wayfarer Studios, and his hired PR experts fired back by filing a lawsuit against the New York Times the same day, alleging libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Basically, they claimed that by reporting on Blake’s claims — and taking them as fact without doing the necessary research — they helped twist the narrative in her favor. For all of this, the actor wants $250 million.
Related: Did Blake Or Her Team CHANGE Justin’s Texts To Hide The Truth?!?
In his lengthy filing, Justin hits back at many of his co-star’s claims against him, such as his differing version of events over an incident in her trailer that left him crying. He also calls out Ryan Reynolds, claims she manipulated the leaked text messages in her suit to make him look bad, and so on. It all just adds to the mess of this situation and may have some fans scratching their heads. It’s (yet again) turned into a very he-said, she-said scandal!
Despite Justin trying to peel apart her defense, the Gossip Girl star’s lawyers aren’t backing down — and they certainly don’t sound worried! In response to the Jane the Virgin star’s legal action on Tuesday, Blake’s attorneys told People:
“Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint. While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.”
Addressing her updated federal complaint filing, which was taken up in the Southern District of New York (where much of the movie was made), they added:
“Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Ms. Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the Complaint took place, but we reserve the right to pursue further action in other venues and jurisdictions as appropriate under the law.”
She’s not backing down, but as we’ve all seen, Justin isn’t either! So, buckle up. This battle is far from over.
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Do you think Justin’s filing will hurt Blake’s case? Has it changed your mind about any of the allegations? Tell us ALL your hot takes (below).
[Image via WENN/Avalon & CBS Mornings/YouTube]