Blake Lively’s Publicist Says She Didn’t Defame Justin Baldoni When She Wrote ‘The Whole Cast Hates Him’

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In a court document filed on Thursday, Blake Lively’s representative contended that it wasn’t considered damaging or untrue to inform a journalist that the entire cast of “It Ends With Us” had expressed dislike towards the film’s director, Justin Baldoni.

In Baldoni’s lawsuit, it’s alleged that Leslie Sloane – a representative for Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds – deliberately spread harmful lies claiming that Baldoni is a sexual predator. This was reportedly done to divert focus from Lively’s conduct on set.

The court case presented texts exchanged between Sloane and a Daily Mail journalist on August 8th, where the journalist inquired about an alleged power struggle between Lively and Baldoni. The journalist mentioned that Lively was rumored to be “troublesome” during filming.

Based on the communications, Sloane stated that the matter had no connection to Lively, and cautioned the journalist against relying on information from Baldoni’s team. In a message, Sloane expressed that they were in a state of panic because the entire cast supposedly despises him.

In an attempt to throw out the lawsuit, lawyers for Sloane contended that calling the cast as expressing “hatred” towards Baldoni was an expression of personal viewpoint, making it unsuitable for forming a basis for a libel case.

I, too, contend that the statement holds truth, as Baldoni himself confessed to it. In my grievance, I asserted that Lively managed to make the cast disregard me on social platforms by choosing not to follow my profiles.

On August 9th, The Daily Mail published an article detailing the conflict between Lively-Baldoni, claiming that Baldoni exhibited borderline abusive behavior towards certain women on set. However, Baldoni asserts that Sloane spread false and damaging information about Baldoni in an attempt to divert attention from Lively’s multiple mistakes.

In their request to throw out the case against her, Sloane’s legal team claims that she was merely reacting to a story that was orchestrated by Baldoni’s group.

Baldoni’s lawsuit also includes a message from a Daily Mail reporter to a Baldoni publicist, dated December, in which the reporter allegedly wrote “Now she’s claiming Blake was sexually assaulted.” Baldoni’s team contends that this communication demonstrates Sloane was propagating an untrue narrative against Baldoni.

Yet, Sloane’s legal team contends that the journalist was actually referring to Lively’s civil rights lawsuit, rather than any statements made by Sloane.

Back in December, I found myself taking legal action against Baldoni and others, alleging that they had retaliated against me for filing sexual harassment complaints by orchestrating a subtle “smear campaign” through the media and online platforms. In response, Baldoni counter-sued, claiming that my colleagues, Reynolds, Sloane, and I were attempting to sabotage his career.

In their attempt to have the case dismissed, Sloane’s legal team claims that Baldoni frequently overstepped professional limits and exhibited strange and harmful behaviors during filming.

Lawyers for Sloane assert that Justin Baldoni has been profiting from the feminist and #MeToo movements for years by selling books, podcasts, TED Talks, among other things, under the banner of supporting survivors, ending victim blaming, and advocating for informed consent. However, they claim that his actions in this case are a stark contradiction to these principles, starting with the allegations of sexual harassment against multiple employees, and extending to his ongoing efforts to discredit and blame his accusers, as well as punishing anyone who speaks out against him.

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2025-02-20 22:18