Justin Baldoni has involved Taylor Swift in his heated legal battle with ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively.
Baldoni accused Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of civil racketeering, defamation and more in a $400 million lawsuit — which just so happens to name global pop star Swift.
The ‘Jane the Virgin’ star’s lawsuit followed Lively’s, where she accused the actor of sexual harassment during the filming of “It Ends With Us.” However, Baldoni insisted that Lively “falsely” accused him in an attempt to repair her reputation following the fallout from the film’s press tour after she took control of the film.
In an attempt to show how Lively would take over production of the film, Baldoni’s legal team alleged that the actress used her friendship with Swift to threaten him. While working on the film, Lively insisted on rewriting the infamous rooftop scene. Baldoni was hesitant about the idea, but told the 37-year-old actress he would “look at what she put together,” according to the complaint.
Justin Baldoni named Taylor Swift, inset, in his lawsuit against Blake Lively. (Getty Images)
Afterwards, Lively invited Baldoni to her New York City home, where the actor said he felt like Swift and Reynolds were pressuring him to use the rewritten scene. “Later, Baldoni felt obliged to text Lively to say he liked her pages and that he didn’t need Reynolds and her mega-famous boyfriend to pressure him,” the complaint said.
“…I love what you’ve done. It really helps a lot. Makes it so much more fun and interesting. (And I would have felt the same way without Ryan and Taylor (emoji). You are truly a talent across the board .Really excited and grateful to do this together,” Baldoni wrote, according to the complaint.
Lively shared a lengthy response, calling Swift and Reynolds “dragons” who protect her.
“The message couldn’t have been clearer. Baldoni wasn’t just dealing with Lively. He was also dealing with Lively’s ‘dragons’, two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who weren’t afraid to make it very to make difficult.”
Lively and Swift have had a friendship for years. (Gotham)
“Both Ryan and (redacted) have established themselves as absolute titans as writers and storytellers outside of their primary gig – just singing or just acting or (redacted) just directing. I’m so lucky to have them as creative barometers,” Lively wrote . , included in the complaint, read. “But also to have them as people who support me and ensure that I am seen for everything I can and have to offer. Because they know firsthand what I contribute. They also know that I am not always there I’m good at making sure I’m seen and used for fear of threatening egos, or for fear of affecting the ease of the process. And that’s why everyone listens to them with enormous respect and enthusiasm. I think I should stop worrying about people liking me.”
Baldoni believed that “the message could not have been clearer,” according to the lawsuit. “Baldoni wasn’t just dealing with Lively. He also had to deal with Lively’s ‘dragons’, two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.
Swift chats with Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman during a Kansas City Chiefs game. (Dustin Satloff)
Baldoni accused Lively of tormenting him, his family and colleagues during the film’s production process in a lawsuit filed Thursday and obtained by Fox News Digital. The actor requested a jury trial and a $400 million verdict.
Baldoni’s legal team claimed that Lively has no evidence of a deliberate smear campaign and instead sought to restore her reputation by accusing the actor and others of sexual harassment.
Lively “could not tolerate for a moment her publicly tarnished image, nor could she accept that it was entirely of her own making,” the lawsuit said. ‘She needed a scapegoat. And instead of admitting and taking responsibility for her own misfortunes, she chose to blame the plaintiffs, in a malicious and inexcusably public manner.
“When she and Reynolds failed to force Baldoni and Wayfarer to read a statement she and her representatives prepared extorting them to ‘take responsibility’ in defense of Lively’s actions, she lay in wait for months and prepared for publicly attacking Baldoni by falsely claiming he had sexually harassed her.”
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Baldoni sued Lively and Reynolds for $400 million. (Getty Images)
A representative for Lively dismissed Baldoni’s lawsuit.
“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and his associates is a new chapter in the abuse manual,” said the statement from Lively’s legal team. “This is an age-old story: a woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser tries to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Denial. Attack. Reverse Victim Perpetrator.”
The statement continued in part: “Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: Look what she was wearing. In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy to attack the woman is desperate, it does not rebut the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint and will fail.”
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Lively and Baldoni starred together in ‘It Ends With Us’. (Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
Vivid, detailed allegations of sexual harassmentretaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and more made by Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint filed first with the California Civil Rights Department and later in federal court.
Some of the issues reportedly raised during an “all-hands” meeting before filming began included no longer showing Lively nude videos or images of women, no more mention of Baldoni’s previous “pornography addiction” , no more discussing personal experiences with sex, no more descriptions of their own genitals, no more adding sex scenes outside of what was in the original script, no more discussions about Lively’s weight or dead father, and more.
Baldoni’s attorney denied the allegations in a statement to The New York Times.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and deliberately salacious with the intent to inflict public hurt and repeat a media narrative,” he claimed.
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