Justin Baldoni, an actor and director known for his work alongside Blake Lively in “It Ends With Us,” has taken legal action to amend his counterclaim suit against Lively, now including her husband Ryan Reynolds, The New York Times, and others as defendants. Baldoni’s claim alleges collusion between Lively and The New York Times, accusing them of orchestrating a smear campaign against him.
The 224-page amended counterclaim, filed by Baldoni’s legal team on Friday, highlights a timeline of events and new allegations. It suggests that Lively’s complaint against Baldoni was a result of months of feeding false information to The New York Times, culminating in a report titled “We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine.” This report, published on Dec. 21, accused Baldoni of attempting to damage Lively’s reputation in response to her sexual harassment complaints on set.
Moreover, the amended suit claims that The Times may have been working on the story as early as Oct. 31, with a companion video created on Dec. 12, nine days before the article’s release. The newspaper allegedly reached out to Baldoni’s team for comment on the evening of Dec. 20, ultimately posting the story the next morning.
In response to these accusations, a spokesperson for The New York Times denied the claims, stating that Baldoni’s legal filings contain inaccuracies. The Times refuted the assertion that they had early access to Lively’s state civil rights complaint, citing Google software-generated dates as a source of confusion.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, did not immediately respond to requests for comment, further adding complexity to the legal battle. The amended lawsuit introduces a new angle involving Ryan Reynolds, Lively’s husband, accusing him of mocking and bullying Baldoni through his portrayal of “Nicepool” in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
The suit alleges that Reynolds depicted Nicepool as a caricature of a ‘woke’ feminist, culminating in his violent death at the hands of “Ladypool,” voiced by Lively. This portrayal, according to the lawsuit, was intended to mock Baldoni’s character and beliefs.
As the legal drama unfolds, representatives for Lively and Reynolds have yet to respond to requests for comment, leaving the situation even more enigmatic. The amended complaint seeks a substantial $400,000,000 in compensatory damages, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal showdown.
With the first hearing on the federal lawsuits looming just two days away, the trial over Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios is scheduled to begin on March 9. As the legal battle intensifies, the entertainment industry braces for a courtroom clash that could have far-reaching implications on the reputations of those involved.
