Justin Baldoni says he’s holding on to ‘faith’ in first public statement after $400M Blake Lively lawsuit
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Justin Baldoni made his first public remarks after he filed a $400 million lawsuit against his 'It Ends With Us' co-star Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist Leslie Sloane, along with her firm Vision PR, Inc, on Thursday, January 16.
The actor was spotted entering the Los Angeles International Airport early on Friday morning.
Justin Baldoni says he's 'grateful to be with the family'
Walking alongside his wife, Emily, and one of their children, Justin Baldoni stopped briefly to address questions about how he was holding up during this challenging time.
When asked how he was managing during the legal dispute, Baldoni responded, “Grateful to be with the family.”
#JustinBaldoni's leaning on his loved ones in the middle of his extensive legal battle with #BlakeLively ... saying he's relying on his friends and family to help him through. 🥩 🥩 🥩 #Exclusive story in bio! pic.twitter.com/N6w26DvDPV
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 17, 2025
He held one of his children's hands while walking through the airport.
Justin Baldoni says he has 'amazing friends' to help deal with legal crisis
The photographer posed another question, acknowledging how difficult the ongoing legal drama must be for Justin Baldoni.
“You know it is a tough time for you, how do you get through this?” the photographer asked, according to TMZ.
With a wide smile, Baldoni replied, “Oh man, we have amazing friends and family and faith."
Baldoni's lawsuit against Lively and Reynolds includes allegations of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, and interference with contractual and economic relations.
Lively had previously filed a lawsuit on December 20, 2024, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and creating a “hostile work environment” during the filming of the Colleen Hoover adaptation.
Her claims included “disturbing” and “unprofessional” behavior, as well as an alleged retaliatory smear campaign.
Justin Baldoni accuses Blake Lively of 'duplicitous attempt to destroy' him
Blake Lively’s complaint stated that she endured “grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety” due to these actions.
In response to Lively's accusations, Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman released a statement.
“This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni."
It added that Lively's complaint also was an attempt to destroy "Justin Baldoni, his team, and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new, and doctored information to the media," Freedman stated, as per People.
The statement added, "Let’s not forget, Ms Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie."
In response to Baldoni's $400 million defamation and extortion suit filed on Thursday, Lively's legal team said in a statement, “This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook."
