Justin Baldoni is preparing to file an “explosive” counterclaim against Blake Lively after she accused him a week ago of sexual harassment on the set of the “It Ends With Us” movie. According to the ‘Daily Mail’, the actor and director is preparing to file legal papers when the courts reopen after New Year’s Day.
“I’m not going to talk about when or how many lawsuits we’re going to file, but when we file our first lawsuit, it will surprise everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, told the portal. Deadline this Saturday.
“It will be backed by real evidence and tell the real story. In more than 30 years of practice, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled through media manipulation,” the lawyer advanced.
The actress denounces “sexual harassment and inappropriate comments” and also uncovers an operation to discredit her public image
Blake Lively filed an 80-page complaint in California in which she details not only the sexual harassment and inappropriate comments against her physique allegedly made by Baldoni during the recording of the project, but also thatThere is an operation to discredit his public image.
This plan, hatched by Baldoni’s expensive legal team, included, according to the lawsuit, an orchestrated social media campaign to build a narrative against her after she complained of “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” suffered during the filming.
The documents provided by the actress include an exchange of private messages between a publicist who works with the project director and crisis management expert, Melissa Nathan. “He (Baldoni) wants to feel like she (Lively) can be buried,” the publicist says. “You know we can bury anyone,” Nathan responds, in an alleged exchange of messages that took place last August, coinciding with the promotion of ‘It Ends With Us’.
The machinery against Lively, in this sense, began to be forged during the release of the film, when rumors arose that the two did not get along well, since they were not seen posing together and they conducted interviews separately, an unusual situation. taking into account that they were the protagonists of the story.
The two actors in an image from the film ‘Breaking the Circle’
While Baldoni openly positioned himself as an ally of feminism in interviews with the press, Lively was criticized by public opinion and the specialized press for downplaying sexist violence, the central theme of the film.
In fact, the American actor and director not only emerged without a single scratch from the negative wave that his partner received, but he was even recognized with the Voices of Solidarity Award for his defense of women, an award that has been taken away from him after know the demand.
The actress received the support of her colleagues at the time, including that of Brandon Sklenar, who plays Atlas Corrigan in the film and who, coincidentally, is also Lily Bloom’s (Lively) ally in her worst moments.
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The legal team expert in crisis management hired by Baldoni represented other celebrities in the past such as rappers Drake and Travis Scott or the American actor Johnny Depp, and whose trials were settled for the benefit of their clients.
Without going any further, Depp won the legal battle in 2022 against his ex-wife Amber Heard, who had to pay him a million dollars after losing the defamation trial. After the impact of the trial, he moved to Madrid to start a new life away from Hollywood.
It’s no surprise that Heard has joined the many voices in the entertainment industry who have publicly supported Lively. “Social media is the absolute embodiment of the classic saying “a lie travels half the world before the truth can get its footing,” he said in statements to NBC News.
Source: www.lavanguardia.com
