Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively‘s legal battle continues as new revelations keep coming to light. Baldoni has made some strong claims in his countersuit against his co-star. The actor who plays Ryle in the movie has claimed that Lively used “threats and extortion” to get her way.
Blake Lively sued her co-star Baldoni for sexual harassment in December 2024. The star also claimed that Justin tried to “destroy” her reputation. The Gossip Girl actress shared how her husband Ryan Reynolds had to get involved in the matter.
Reynolds apparently came in to talk about the “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior.” Blake claims that matters got worse after Justin and his team tarnished her reputation following the meeting.
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Justin Baldoni has now come out to claim that Blake “held” him and his family during the premiere of It Ends With Us. In documents obtained by E! News, Baldoni’s legal team talks about how Blake and her team used the means of “threats and extortion.”
The actor and his family can be seen sitting around a table in what looks like a basement. The group is smiling at the camera for a picture. The table that they are sitting at has buckets of popcorn and beverages atop it. Baldoni claimed that Blake made him “sit out” the premiere of the movie.
The Jane the Virgin star alleged that he and his group were “held” in the basement to “avoid even a chance of interaction with Lively or her guests.” The documents also claim that the group was “confined” in the room.
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“Surrounded by close friends, family, soda bottles, and a lot of love, the irony of being held in a basement on what was arguably one of the most important nights of Baldoni’s career thus far was not lost on anyone,” the document reads.
According to the lawsuit documents, Justin was also left out of the official celebrity after-party by Blake. The after-party was apparently paid for by Sony and Wayfarer. Baldoni is the founder of the Wayfarer Studios.
After Lively filed her sexual harassment lawsuit. Justin decided to file his own $400 million countersuit in January 2025. The actor is suing Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds and her publicist, Leslie Sloane. The actor who also served as a director on the movie alleged that Blake was “determined to make” him the “real-life villain” of her story.
The documents of the lawsuit also address the sexual harassment claims that Lively made against her co-star. Justin claims that his It Ends With Us co-star “falsified stories” in her claims.
Baldoni also attacked The New York Times for their “false” reports regarding this matter. “They conspired and worked in concert with the New York Times to put out a blockbuster news report as devastating as it was false,” the documents detailed.
The news outlet has officially released a statement addressing Baldoni’s claims and noted that it “meticulously and responsibly reported” what had happened. They also shared how they “plan to vigorously defend against” Justin’s allegations.
