Justin Baldoni accuses Blake Lively of attempting to ban him from August premiere of 'It Ends With Us'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Justin Baldoni has alleged in his lawsuit that Blake Lively tried to prohibit him and his Wayfarer Studios team from attending ‘It Ends With Us’ premiere in August 2024.
The actor filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, December 31, after it published an article, titled 'We Can Bury Anyone: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine', on December 21, which was based on Lively’s allegations against the 40-year-old director.
Court documents claimed that the ‘Gossip Girl’ star “initially refused to permit his attendance” at the event to “undermine” Baldoni’s role as director as well as executive producer and star of the film, according to Page Six.
Blake Lively allowed Justin Baldoni to attend film’s premiere ‘under humiliating conditions’
“Only after significant pressure did she reluctantly agree to allow Baldoni and the Wayfarer team to attend, but under humiliating conditions,” the lawsuit stated.
The allegations continued that “the Wayfarer team and their families, including Justin Baldoni and [producer Jamey] Heath, were segregated from the main cast, barred from the exclusive after-party, and forced to organize their own event at additional cost.”
The lawsuit added, “Baldoni’s participation on the red carpet was cut short and his family and friends were confined to a makeshift holding area in the basement before being escorted into a separate theater after Lively’s departure.”
The ‘Five Feet Apart’ director also mentioned in his lawsuit that “not only had Lively stolen the film, but she also robbed Baldoni and his team of any genuine opportunity to celebrate their hard work.”
Justin Baldoni claims he was dropped by WME due to Blake Lively and her husband
Besides, Justin Baldoni claimed in his legal filings that the alleged attempt to ban him was one of the many steps taken by Blake Lively that “systematically sidelined [him] from the marketing of his own film.”
The ‘Jane the Virgin’ actor’s lawsuit also named Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds in it.
“Baldoni and [Wayfarer Studios] grew increasingly fearful of what Lively and Reynolds were capable of, as their actions seemed aimed at destroying Baldoni’s career and personal life,” the court papers asserted.
Baldoni has also accused Reynolds of forcing talent agency, William Morris Endeavor (WME), to drop him as its client.
WME says Justin Baldoni’s claim is ‘not true’
However, WME dismissed Justin Baldoni's allegations in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
It said, “In Baldoni’s filing there is a claim that Reynolds pressured Baldoni’s agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true.”
“Baldoni’s former representative was not at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client,” the agency added.
Blake Lively’s team says Justin Baldoni's allegations are ‘based on the obviously false premise’
Meanwhile, Blake Lively’s team has also shared their statement after Justin Baldoni's filing.
They said, “Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint, nor her federal complaint.”
“This lawsuit is based on the obviously false premise that Ms Lively’s administrative complaint against Wayfarer and others was a ruse based on a choice ‘not to file a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer,’ and that ‘litigation was never her ultimate goal.’ As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively [Tuesday], that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false,” the actress’ team added.
