Blake Lively has formally filed a lawsuit against her “It Ends with Us” co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment.
The lawsuit, obtained by USA TODAY, was filed Tuesday in New York federal court and comes weeks after the “Gossip Girl” alum filed a headline-generating complaint with the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni, which surfaced Dec. 21. It follows a rumored summer-long feud between the pair on the set of the buzzy film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestseller.
The lawsuit mirrors Lively’s earlier claims laid out in her complaint, which allege that Baldoni — along with his Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath — engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct in and out of the workplace.
Wayfarer, Baldoni’s production company, is also named in the complaint and official suit.
Lively’s formal lawsuit was filed on New Year’s Eve, the same day Baldoni filed his own lawsuit against The New York Times for libel after the news organization published Lively’s smear campaign accusations.
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In court documents obtained by USA TODAY Tuesday, Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The Times in Los Angeles Superior Court and is named among a group of 10 plaintiffs which also include publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel and “It Ends With Us” producers Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz.
They are suing the newspaper for libel and false light invasion of privacy over the article outlining Lively’s accusations.
Lively, 37, alleges Baldoni, 40, showed her videos and images of nude women, discussed his past pornography addiction, detailed his personal sexual experiences, described his genitalia, improvised kisses, spoke to Lively’s personal trainer about her weight, entered her trailer while she was naked, added sex scenes and made personal, and sexual comments.”
The complaint also alleges Baldoni colluded with his PR team to plant negative stories about Lively after she came forward on set about his apparent behavior in a coordinated effort to “destroy” her career.
Her lawyers also accuse Baldoni of initiating unwanted discussions with her about past sexual encounters in which he didn’t seek consent from his partners.
On Tuesday, Lively’s legal team addressed Baldoni’s lawsuit in a statement to USA TODAY. “Nothing” in Baldoni’s lawsuit “changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint,” her legal team said.
“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,'” the statement continued. “As demonstrated by the federal complaint filed by Ms. Lively earlier today, that frame of reference for the Wayfarer lawsuit is false. While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.”
In the wake of the allegations levied by Lively, Baldoni lost his podcast co-host Liz Plank, who quit in an open letter to listeners, and was stripped of a domestic and sexual violence prevention advocacy award by global non-profit organization Vital Voices.
The controversy surrounding “It Ends with Us” is a swift change for Baldoni, who built a career promoting his progressive views on masculinity after he became a breakout star on the Emmy-nominated CW dramedy “Jane the Virgin,” which aired from 2014-19.
It Ends With Us,” based on the popular book by New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, follows a flower shop owner named Lily Blossom Bloom (Lively), who falls in love with Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), a dashing neurosurgeon, and reconnects with her stoic childhood sweetheart, Atlas Corrigan (Sklenar).
Fan speculation surrounding the drama between Baldoni and Lively derailed the film’s August press tour, but the movie was still a blockbuster hit for Sony Pictures, grossing $148 million at the U.S. box office.
Contributing: Pamela Avila, Edward Segarra
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment
