Blake Lively publicly ‘humiliated’ Justin Baldoni, family

Actor-filmmaker Justin Baldoni has accused his ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Blake Lively of public humiliation at their film’s premiere.

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In his $250 million counter-lawsuit filed against the New York Times, for backing Blake Lively’s sexual harassment allegations story, Justin Baldoni alleged that his co-star tried to ban him and his Wayfarer Studios team from attending the premiere of their film ‘It Ends With Us’, and even attempted to undermine his role as actor, director and executive producer of the title.

“Further undermining Baldoni’s role, Lively initially refused to permit his attendance at the Film’s premiere,” the lawsuit stated. “Only after significant pressure did she reluctantly agree to allow Baldoni and the Wayfarer team to attend, but under humiliating conditions.”

“The Wayfarer team and their families, including Baldoni and [producer Jamey] Heath, were segregated from the main cast, barred from the exclusive after-party, and forced to organise their own event at additional cost,” Baldoni claimed.

As per the court filings, his red carpet time was cut short, and he and his loved ones were confined to a basement holding area before being separated from the main event. “Not only had Lively stolen the Film, but she also robbed Baldoni and his team of any genuine opportunity to celebrate their hard work,” stated the lawsuit.

Besides Lively, Baldoni also included her husband Ryan Reynolds in the lawsuit, accusing him of actions to sabotage his career, including his influence on agency WME to drop the former as a client. He also claimed that the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ star accused him of ‘fat-shaming’ Lively.

It is worth noting here that Blake Lively first sued Baldoni in the California Civil Rights Commission, accusing him of sexual harassment and a smear campaign. She alleged that ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star attempted to tarnish her image after he called up a meeting in which she brought along her actor husband, Reynolds, to address ‘repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour’ by the director and a producer on the set of the Box Office hit.

In her second lawsuit with the New York federal court, Lively levelled allegations of ‘severe emotional distress and pain, humiliation, embarrassment, belittlement, frustration, and mental anguish’ against Baldoni, and demanded he pay punitive and compensatory damages.