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Never think for a second that anything like New Year’s Eve could get in the way of some old-fashioned Hollywood legal fireworks.
Eleven days after Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint with California’s Civil Rights department against Justin Baldoni and his team over what went down during production of It Ends With Us and the film’s aftermath, the much A-lister supported actress has formally sued her co-star and director in federal court in New York.
“As laid out in this Complaint, the Baldoni-Wayfarer-led public attack of Ms. Lively was the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others, from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath created,” the 13-claim complaint states.
“As such, it was not only unconscionable and a breach of contract, but also illegal under both state and federal law,” the jury trial seeking filing adds. Ms. Lively brings this action to hold Wayfarer and its leaders, Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Heath, and Mr. Sarowitz, accountable for the ongoing5 retaliation threats and harm they have caused Ms. Lively, other cast and crew, and all of their families,”
Looking for unspecified damages, Lively’ suit pretty clearly implies that it aims to see Baldoni or his minions say or type Lively or husband Ryan Reynolds‘ names every again.
To that end, and reiterating much of what was in the original December 20 complaint, Lively’s action today against Baldoni, his Wayfarer Studio company, CEO Jamey Health, PR mavens Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, and others comes on the same last day of 2024 that the defendants in this matter became plaintiffs in their own $250 million suit against the New York Times for its detailed December 20 “We Can Bury Anyone”: Inside A Hollywood Smear Machine piece about the BTS on IEWU.
“Ms. Lively never sought out conflict with Wayfarer, Ms. Baldoni, or Mr. Heath, but instead consistently attempted to speak up for a safe and respectful workplace privately in the hopes of protecting herself, as well as the cast and crew, without jeopardizing a Film that she believed could make a difference in peoples’ lives,” Livley’s Manatt, Phelps & Phillips attorneys and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP filed suit says of the fallout that has pulled back the sordid veil on Crisis PR in America. “In response, Mr. Baldoni, Mr. Heath, and those working for them, sought to destroy Ms. Lively and anyone else who knew the truth. Ms. Lively’s discovery of the full extent of the retaliatory campaign launched by the Wayfarer parties and their associates, left her with no choice.Ms. Lively exhausted jurisdictional prerequisites to filing this lawsuit including by timely filing a complaint regarding the behaviors identified herein with the California Civil Rights Department.”
To that end, as numerous lawsuits from numerous parties in this dirty business swirl and more seem likely, Lively’s lawyers told Deadline Tuesday that: “Earlier today, Ms. Lively filed a federal complaint against Wayfarer Studios and others in the Southern District of New York. Ms. Lively previously sent her California Civil Rights Department Complaint in response to the retaliatory campaign Wayfarer launched against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Unfortunately, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has resulted in further retaliation and attacks. As alleged in Ms. Lively’s federal Complaint, Wayfarer and its associates have violated federal and California state law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Now, the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court. Ms. Lively has brought this litigation in New York, where much of the relevant activities described in the Complaint took place, but we reserve the right to pursue further action in other venues and jurisdictions as appropriate under the law.”
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