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Why is Justin Baldoni suing Ryan Reynolds along with Blake Lively? The accusations against the 'Deadpool & Wolverine' star.
"It is not strange that Ryan Reynolds was named in light of Baldoni's theories in the complaint," a defamation attorney tells Yahoo Entertainment.
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Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's It Ends With Us war escalated on Thursday after the director officially filed a $400 million lawsuit against the actress. The countersuit was expected as Lively first sued Baldoni in December and accused him of sexual harassment and misconduct on set.
But Lively isn't the only one called out in the 179-page document. Ryan Reynolds was also sued and named in six of seven claims in the civil filing. One legal expert said it is not surprising the actor was included given the allegations.
"It is not strange that Ryan Reynolds was named in light of Baldoni's theories in the complaint," defamation lawyer Jeff Lewis told Yahoo Entertainment on Friday. "Baldoni argues that Reynolds participated in a meeting to force Baldoni to apologize for misconduct that did not occur and pressured Baldoni to surrender creative control over the film. This meeting is a key part of Baldoni's civil extortion theory."
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That meeting, which took place on Jan. 4, 2024, is referenced in both Lively and Baldoni's dueling lawsuits. It was set up to discuss a list of issues the Gossip Girl alum wanted addressed before returning to set. Topics included the role of an intimacy coordinator, no unscripted kissing and more. Reynolds attended the meeting as Lively's chosen representative.
"Baldoni claims that both Lively and Reynolds took actions to force [talent agency] William Morris Endeavor to drop Baldoni as a client. Under the facts of this case, Reynolds is not just the husband of Lively," Lewis added. "He is alleged to be individually responsible for Baldoni's claims."
Attorney Bryan Freedman filed the lawsuit on behalf of Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios, It Ends With Us co-producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan. All parties were named in Lively's lawsuit in which she also claimed Baldoni's publicists embarked on a smear campaign that ruined her reputation.
The group is suing Lively and Reynolds for civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage. (Lively is the only one being sued for breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.)
Here is what Reynolds is accused of in the lawsuit.
What happened at the Jan. 4 meeting?The meeting was attended by Baldoni, Heath, a Sony representative, the film's first assistant director, and two producers. Ahead of time, Lively sent 17 issues she wanted to discuss before returning to set. However, Baldoni claimed he did not know those issues centered around his and Heath's alleged inappropriate behavior.
"Reynolds and Lively blindsided the rest of the group with a list of grievances, read aloud by Lively, that were as troubling as they were fictional," Baldoni's lawsuit claimed. "Reynolds then launched into an aggressive tirade, berating Baldoni in what Baldoni later described as a 'traumatic' encounter."
Reynolds allegedly "demanded that Baldoni apologize to Lively" for his behavior, which Baldoni claimed "either never happened or had been grossly mischaracterized."
"Baldoni resisted apologizing for things he had not done, further enraging Reynolds," the lawsuit alleged. "The producer said that in his 40-year career, he had never seen anyone speak to someone like that in a meeting."
Reynolds and Lively attend the New York premiere of "It Ends With Us" in New York City in August. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)
Baldoni and Heath allegedly "left the meeting deeply unsettled by Lively and Reynolds's behavior and the power dynamics at play." They believed that this was an attempt for Lively to get "creative control over the film, a campaign now apparently joined by Reynolds."
Wayfarer agreed to all safeguards Lively wanted to put in place.
Baldoni claims Reynolds and Lively tried to pressure him to issue statementAfter the Aug. 6 premiere of It Ends With Us, when the public first caught on that something was amiss between Baldoni and the cast, the couple is accused of demanding that WME force Baldoni to "publicly apologize" for "mistakes" during production. (WME represents Lively and Reynolds, and formerly, Baldoni).
On Aug. 12, Heath (Baldoni's co-producer) and Abel, his personal publicist, had a call with two WME executives.
"The executive communicated the demand from Lively and Reynolds that Wayfarer, Heath and Baldoni make a public apology that day and that, if they failed to do so, the 'gloves would come off,'" the lawsuit claimed. The executive also supposedly said Lively and Reynolds "objected when Baldoni spoke kindly of Lively in public, claiming that it misrepresented their relationship."
At this point, Lively was facing social media backlash for how she was promoting the film. Whether that was organic or amplified by an alleged orchestrated attack from Baldoni's publicists is one issue at the center of Lively and Baldoni's dueling lawsuits.
Another call took place on Aug. 13, during which Heath and Abel allegedly said they were not behind the negative publicity. WME purportedly relayed that "Reynolds and Lively dictated a statement that they required Wayfarer to put out, calling It Ends With Us a 'troubled' production."
"Wayfarer, Baldoni, and Heath would have to acknowledge and own their 'mistakes' and 'own' all negativity being aimed at Reynolds and Lively," the lawsuit claimed. When asked what they needed to take accountability for, a WME executive allegedly "admitted that Lively and Reynolds were simply upset by how social media had turned against them."
Reynolds accused of pressuring WME to drop BaldoniBaldoni's lawsuit claims that Reynolds tried to interfere with his representation.
At the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine, Reynolds allegedly told a WME agent they were working with a "sexual predator," in reference to Baldoni, and at a later date, demanded the agent "drop" the actor. WME has repeatedly said they were not pressured by either Lively or Reynolds to drop Baldoni, which they ultimately did in December when she came forward with her allegations.
"[Ryan's] wielding of power and influence became undeniable. Baldoni and Wayfarer grew increasingly fearful of what Lively and Reynolds were capable of, as their actions seemed aimed at destroying Baldoni's career and personal life," the lawsuit claimed. "This pivotal moment" is why a "terrified" Baldoni hired Nathan, a crisis publicist. Baldoni wanted "to be ready in case Reynolds and Lively decided to unleash their wrath."
Baldoni at the New York premiere of It Ends With Us. (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
'Fat-shaming' allegationsOne of the few things not disputed is that Baldoni sent his and Lively's trainer a text asking about her weight ahead of a scene where he was supposed to lift her. Baldoni claimed it was so he "could train his back muscles in preparation."
"Baldoni was summoned to the penthouse by Lively and greeted by [Reynolds], who swore at Baldoni and accused him of fat-shaming his wife ('How dare you f***ing ask about my wife's weight? What's wrong with you?')," per the lawsuit. "The confrontation from Reynolds and Lively was so aggressive that Baldoni felt he had no choice but to offer repeated (and completely unwarranted) apologies for what was a good faith and reasonable question to ask of his trainer. Reynolds demanded Baldoni remove the scene entirely. Lively refused to perform the lift scene in the end, even after it was rehearsed with a stunt double."
How Lively's legal team respondedThe actress and Reynolds are not backing down. In a statement to Yahoo, they alleged Baldoni's Jan. 16 lawsuit "is another chapter in the abuser playbook" in an attempt to "shift the narrative."
"The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Livelyâs complaint, and it will fail," it read, in part.
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