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Why is Justin Baldoni suing Ryan Reynolds along with Blake Lively? The allegations against the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ star.

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni It ends with us The war escalated on Thursday after the director officially filed a $400 million lawsuit against the actress. The countersuit was expected when Lively first sued Baldoni in December, accusing him of sexual harassment and misconduct on set.

But Lively isn’t the only one mentioned in the 179-page document. Ryan Reynolds was also sued and named in six of the seven claims in the civil suit. One legal expert said that given the allegations, it is not surprising that the actor was recorded.

“It is not surprising that Ryan Reynolds was mentioned in light of Baldoni’s theories in the complaint,” defamation attorney Jeff Lewis told Yahoo Entertainment on Friday. “Baldoni claims that Reynolds participated in a meeting to force Baldoni to apologize for misconduct that did not occur and that he pressured Baldoni to relinquish creative control of the film. This meeting is a key part of Baldoni’s theory of civil racketeering.”

That meeting, which took place on January 4, 2024, is referenced in both Lively and Baldoni’s dueling lawsuits. It was created to discuss a list of issues Gossip girl alum wanted to be spoken to before returning to the set. Topics included the role of an intimacy coordinator, no unscripted kissing and more. Reynolds attended the meeting as Lively’s elected representative.

Baldoni claims that both Lively and Reynolds took coercive measures [talent agency] William Morris Try to drop Baldoni as a client. Given the facts of this case, Reynolds is not solely Lively’s husband,” Lewis added. “He would be individually responsible for Baldoni’s allegations.”

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Attorney Bryan Freedman filed the lawsuit on behalf of Baldoni, his company Wayfarer Studios, It ends with us co-producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan. All parties were named in Lively’s lawsuit, in which she also alleged that Baldoni’s publicists began a smear campaign that ruined her reputation.

The group is suing Lively and Reynolds for civil racketeering, defamation, false light, invasion of privacy, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage. (Lively is the only one sued for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.)

This is what Reynolds is accused of in the lawsuit.

What happened at the January 4 meeting?

The meeting was attended by Baldoni, Heath, a Sony representative, the film’s first assistant director and two producers. In advance, Lively sent seventeen issues that she wanted to discuss before returning to the set. However, Baldoni claimed he was unaware of the issues surrounding his and Heath’s alleged inappropriate behavior.

“Reynolds and Lively blinded the rest of the group with a list of grievances, read by Lively, that were as disturbing as they were fictional,” Baldoni’s lawsuit alleged. “Reynolds then launched an aggressive tirade, berating Baldoni in what Baldoni later described as a ‘traumatic’ encounter.”

Reynolds allegedly “demanded that Baldoni apologize to Lively” for his behavior, which Baldoni claimed “never happened or was grossly mischaracterized.”

“Baldoni refused to apologize for things he did not do, which further infuriated Reynolds,” the lawsuit alleged. “The producer said he had never seen anyone talk to someone like that in a meeting in his 40-year career.”

Reynolds and Lively attend the New York premiere of “It Ends With Us” in New York City in August. (Charly Tribelleau/AFP via Getty Images)

Baldoni and Heath are said to have “left the meeting deeply unsettled by the behavior of Lively and Reynolds and the power dynamics at play.” They believed this was an attempt by Lively to “gain creative control over the film, a campaign now apparently joined by Reynolds.”

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Wayfarer agreed to all the safeguards that Lively wanted to put in place.

Baldoni claims that Reynolds and Lively tried to pressure him into making a statement

After the August 6 premiere of It ends with usWhen audiences first noticed that something was wrong between Baldoni and the cast, the couple is accused of demanding that WME force Baldoni to “publicly apologize” for “mistakes” during production. (WME represents Lively and Reynolds, and previously Baldoni).

On August 12, Heath (Baldoni’s co-producer) and Abel, his personal publicist, had a phone conversation with two WME executives.

“The director communicated Lively and Reynolds’ demand that Wayfarer, Heath and Baldoni make a public apology that day and that, if they did not, they would ‘take off the gloves,'” the lawsuit said. The director also reportedly said that Lively and Reynolds “objected when Baldoni spoke kindly about Lively in public, claiming it misrepresented their relationship.”

At the time, Lively faced backlash on social media for the way she promoted the film. Whether that was organic or amplified by an alleged orchestrated attack by Baldoni’s publicists is an issue at the heart of Lively and Baldoni’s dueling lawsuits.

Another phone call took place on August 13, with Heath and Abel reportedly saying they did not support the negative publicity. WME reportedly stated that “Reynolds and Lively dictated a statement for Wayfarer to release, calling It ends with us a ‘troubled’ production.”

“Wayfarer, Baldoni and Heath should acknowledge and acknowledge their ‘mistakes’ and ‘own’ any negativity directed at Reynolds and Lively,” the lawsuit alleged. When asked what they should take responsibility for, a WME manager “admitted that Lively and Reynolds were simply angry about the way social media had turned against them.”

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Reynolds accused of pressuring WME to drop Baldoni

Baldoni’s lawsuit alleges that Reynolds tried to interfere with his representation.

At the premiere of Deadpool and WolverineReynolds reportedly told a WME agent that they were working with a “sexual predator,” referring to Baldoni, and at a later date demanded that the agent “drop” the actor. WME has repeatedly said they were not pressured by Lively or Reynolds to drop Baldoni, which they ultimately did in December when she went public with her allegations.

“[Ryan’s] The exercise of power and influence became undeniable. Baldoni and Wayfarer became increasingly fearful of what Lively and Reynolds were capable of, as their actions appeared aimed at destroying Baldoni’s career and personal life,” the lawsuit alleged. ‘This pivotal moment’ is why a ‘terrified’ Baldoni hired Nathan, a crisis publicist Baldoni wanted to be “ready in case Reynolds and Lively decided to unleash their fury.”

Justin Baldoni

Baldoni at the New York premiere of It ends with us. (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)

‘Fat-shaming’ accusations

One of the few things not What is in dispute is that Baldoni texted his and Lively’s trainer asking about her weight prior to a scene where he had to lift her. Baldoni claimed this was so he could ‘train his back muscles in preparation’.

“Baldoni was called to the penthouse by Lively and greeted by [Reynolds]who swore at Baldoni and accused him of making fun of his wife (“How dare you ask about my wife’s weight? What’s wrong with you?”),” the lawsuit said. ‘Reynolds and Lively’s confrontation was so aggressive that Baldoni felt he had no choice but to apologize repeatedly (and completely unfounded) for what was a good faith and reasonable question to ask his trainer. Reynolds demanded that Baldoni delete the scene completely. Lively ultimately refused to perform the elevator scene, even after it was rehearsed with a stunt double.”

The actress and Reynolds are not giving up. In a statement to Yahoo, they claimed that Baldoni’s January 16 lawsuit is “a new chapter in the abuse manual” in an effort to “change the narrative.”

“The strategy to attack the woman is desperate, does not rebut the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint and will fail,” it said in part.

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