Blake Lively accused of serving lawsuit papers to Justin Baldoni's team during LA fire evacuations
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Blake Lively's ongoing legal feud with her 'It Ends With Us' co-star and director Justin Baldoni just got a whole lot messier — and if the rumors are true, it’s seriously bad optics for the 'Gossip Girl' alum.
Here’s a quick catch-up: Lively has accused Baldoni of harassing her on set and creating a "hostile work environment" during the making of the film. She claims that when she spoke up, he retaliated with a smear campaign aimed at tanking her reputation.
The 'Jane the Virgin' actor has vehemently denied these allegations and flipped the narrative by accusing her of masterminding a "calculated smear campaign" against him. He’s even taken his fight to The New York Times, suing them for libel over an article about Lively's complaint.
And he’s not stopping there — Baldoni reportedly plans to countersue Lively soon, promising to drop receipts that allegedly expose her "pattern of bullying."
The drama has been escalating for weeks, with both sides throwing accusations left and right. But now, Lively's latest alleged move of serving papers to Baldoni's team during wildfire evacuation has people raising their eyebrows and shaking their heads.
Blake Lively's team allegedly served legal papers to Justin Baldon's team while they were scrambling to evacuate
According to sources close to Justin Baldoni who spoke with Daily Mail, Blake Lively's team supposedly served legal papers to the actor's camp on January 7 and 8 — while they were in the middle of evacuating their homes due to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.
Court servers allegedly showed up at "noticeably damaged homes" as Baldoni's team was scrambling to evacuate, with one source saying there was even "a young child inside."
One insider fumed, "It is beyond despicable that Blake Lively’s team sent court servers to the noticeably damaged homes of Justin Baldoni’s team while they were preparing to evacuate with a young child inside on the same day as one of the largest tragedies that Los Angeles has ever witnessed."
The same source claimed that the papers Lively's team delivered didn’t even contain anything new.
"This desperate act of ego and privilege is even more horrendous set against the recent events in LA. The defendants in her suit and their legal team have lost homes, been forced to evacuate, and yet are still made to fight for their livelihoods and reputation against these egotistical people. Certainly a new, unforgivable low for Ms Lively," the insider remarked.
Blake Lively's team claps back at claims of serving legal papers during evacuations
Blake Lively's camp is, however, calling foul on these claims.
A spokesperson for the 'A Simple Favor' star insisted to the outlet that they did not serve any papers during the chaos. "We have been attempting to serve all of the defendants since the end of last year. This is a standard part of all lawsuits – and is legally required. We have paused all attempts at service until the emergency conditions in LA have passed," they asserted.
If true, this would mean Lively and her team hit the brakes on their legal crusade out of respect for the wildfire tragedy. So, who’s telling the truth?
Regardless of who’s in the right, the optics here are a disaster. If the actress' team did serve papers during a crisis, it’s definitely not a good look. But if Baldoni's camp is using the wildfires to spin public opinion, that’s equally grim.
Amid all this drama, it’s easy to forget the bigger picture: people in Southern California are losing their homes, their belongings, and even their lives to these catastrophic fires.
Wildfires in the Los Angeles area have claimed the lives of at least 16 people, with officials stating that the full death toll remains uncertain as the fires are still ongoing, NBC News reported.
