New developments have emerged in the high-profile legal dispute between Justin Baldoni, actor-director of ‘It Ends With Us’ and Blake Lively, who worked alongside him in the 2024 film. As part of his $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times, Baldoni has produced alleged text messages between himself and Lively, challenging her allegations of sexual harassment. The case is being reviewed currently by the California Civil Rights Department.
In her eight-page lawsuit, Blake accused Baldoni of several misconducts that made her uncomfortable. She claimed that Baldoni and Producer Jamey Heath entered her trailer without prior information while she was breastfeeding her child. However, the chats, exclusively revealed by In Touch Weekely, point out that it was Blake who asked the team to join her for a meeting, while she was breastfeeding.
The private messages also reveal Blake Lively’s conversation with the director about her character’s wardrobe. Notably, one exchange shows Lively herself suggesting a more “sexier” approach to the clothing choices.
What’s The Controversy About?
After New York Times reported a story on Blake Lively’s allegations, which created quite a stir, Justin hit back and filed a $250 million lawsuit against the publication.
In his lawsuit, Justin claims that the NY Times wrote a one-sided story based on a complaint Blake filed with the California Civil Rights Department. They also ignored the proofs, which contradict Blake’s version of the incident. “Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, lifting it nearly verbatim while disregarding an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motiv ran a story that was one-sided,” claimed Justin’s lawyer.
The publication has, however, denied the accusations. A spokesperson responded and said, “Our story was meticulously and responsibly reported” and based on a review of “thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and email that we quote accurately and at length in the article.”
Justin also refutes Blake’s claims of inappropriate behaviour and shared that Blake was at ease with their presence in her trailer and was the one to invite them to rehearse lines while she was breastfeeding. In his suit, Justin also shared that when he used the word ‘sexy’ later, it was in response to her creative input, and in no way an objectifying statement.
