Blake Lively's 'bullying pattern': Baldoni's lawyer vows to expose ‘receipts’ and evidence
Justin Baldoni's lawyer has pledged to release evidence of Blake Lively's alleged bullying behaviour in response to her accusations against him.
Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are caught up in a tense legal battle with both parties accusing each other of launching a smear campaign. Lively has filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment and a toxic work environment on the set of It Ends with Us. In retaliation, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the newspaper of libel after it published a damaging article about Lively's harassment allegations.
In a recent development, Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman has vowed to release to evidence showing a pattern of bullying from the Gossip Girl actress.
Baldoni’s Lawyer to release evidence of Blake Lively's alleged bullying behaviour
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, Freedman said, "It is painfully ironic that Blake Lively is accusing Justin Baldoni of weaponising the media when her own team orchestrated this vicious attack by sending The New York Times grossly edited documents prior to even filing the complaint."
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Freedman went on to assert that they possess substantial evidence to prove a "pattern of bullying and threats" and declared, “We have all the receipts and more."
“None of this will come as a surprise because consistent with her past behavior Blake Lively used other people to communicate those threats and bully her way to get whatever she wanted,” he claimed.
Lively has accused the director and co-star of her recent movie It Ends With Us of launching a smear campaign against her and sexually harassing her on set while creating a "hostile" work environment. Her claims include allegations that Baldoni and another producer entered her trailer without permission while she was undressed. Lively also claimed that Baldoni improvised physical intimacy during filming without prior discussion or rehearsal.
Baldoni for his part has denied all the claims and provided the court with text exchanges between him and the actress during the film's shoot.
‘Not a Feud’ over ‘It Ends With Us’ creative differences
On the other hand, in a statement to Variety, Blake Lively's legal team has strongly denied that her lawsuit against "It Ends With Us" director and co-star Justin Baldoni emerges from a mere disagreement over creative choices.
They stressed that the lawsuit is based on serious allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation, supported by “concrete evidence.” The statement dismissed the impression that this is a simple "he said, she said" situation or a personal feud.
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Instead, it alleges that the production company, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates “engaged in unlawful retaliation against Lively for attempting to protect herself and others on set.” They continued, "and their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing.”
