The director and actor of the film Never againaccused by Blake Lively of sexual harassment, files a complaint against the actress and against the newspaper which published an investigation into the affair.
Justin Baldoni counterattacks. The director and actor of Never againtargeted by accusations of sexual harassment on the set of the film by Blake Lively, in turn filed a complaint against the actress, indicates Variety on January 1, 2025. He is also suing the daily The New York Times, which published the Last December 21, a long article recounting the affair, entitled “Behind the scenes of a Hollywood defamation machine”.
Blake Lively denounced the behavior of Justin Baldoni and the film's producer Jamey Heath during the filming of the film, accusing them of having created a toxic work environment and of having orchestrated a campaign to denigrate her in the media.
“I hope that my legal action will help lift the veil on these sinister retaliatory tactics aimed at harming those who speak out about professional misconduct and protecting others who may be targeted,” she said in the New York Times .
Justin Baldoni, for his part, accuses Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of having pressured the agency WME, which represented him, to terminate his contract.
“Trafficked and manipulated”
Attorney Bryan Freedman, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Justin Baldoni and Jamey Heath, told Variety that the New York Times had “bent to the desires and whims of two powerful 'untouchable' Hollywood figures, flouting the journalistic practices and ethics worthy of that respected title by using doctored and manipulated text messages and intentionally omitting messages that challenge their chosen narrative.”
According to the complaint relayed by Variety, “The Times article relied almost entirely on Lively's unverified and biased account, repeating it almost word for word while ignoring an abundance of evidence that contradicted her claims and exposed her true motivations “.
The daily article notably cited several SMS exchanges between the director and the crisis management specialist hired to manage the situation during the promotion of the film.
Justin Baldoni also accuses Blake Lively of having led a “strategic and manipulative” smear campaign and using false “allegations of sexual harassment to assert unilateral control over all aspects of production”.
Rumors of tensions
Blake Lively had denounced the behavior of Justin Baldoni, who also plays the main role of Never againfrom January 2024.
Rumors of tensions on the set also circulated last August at the time of the release of Never again. The tabloid TMZ had then notably reported that Justin Baldoni had shown fatphobia by commenting on the weight of the actress who had just given birth to her fourth child.
Adapted from the novel Never Again by Colleen Hoover, this drama about domestic violence grossed more than $350 million at the box office.
Several movie celebrities have given their support to Blake Lively. Notably Brandon Sklenar, another actor in Never Again but also Amber Heard, America FerreraAmber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, appearing in 2005 in Four girls and jeans alongside Blake Lively.
