Baldoni, Lively lawyers face off in $400 mn 'It Ends With Us' case / Photo: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU - AFP
Baldoni, Lively lawyers face off in $400 mn 'It Ends With Us' case
Lawyers for Hollywood stars Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively faced off Monday in their $400 million defamation fight, as Baldoni's side dropped a cache of case documents online prompting censure from the judge.
Hollywood power couple Lively and Ryan Reynolds are being targeted by Baldoni, Lively's co-star on bleak romance movie "It Ends With Us," after she sued Baldoni and alleged sexual harassment.
In the latest caustic twist in the legal battle engulfing the film, Baldoni's team created a website containing a trove of messages and documents relating to the case.
In court, Judge Lewis Liman said the latest amended complaint, which included emails and text messages between Baldoni and Lively and Reynolds -- who Baldoni is also suing -- broke court procedure, US media reported.
The Manhattan federal judge threatened to bring forward the date of the trial, currently slated for March 2026, if the parties to the case continue to litigate the dispute in the media.
"You've got a lot in front of the court that gives, I think, the public plenty to feast upon," Liman said reportedly.
The $400 million suit from Baldoni, who also directed the film, came after Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against him, protesting her treatment on set, and then a lawsuit accusing him of launching a retaliatory media campaign against her.
Baldoni has sought to have the case against him dismissed.
"We just couldn't be more pleased with how all the issues were managed. We're going to move as quickly as we possibly can and prove our innocence," Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman said outside court following the hearing.
Lively's lawyer Michael Gottlieb said he was "very happy with how the hearing went" -- but did not elaborate.
The war between the stars was dragged into the spotlight when fans noticed during promotion of the film that they did not follow one another on social media.
It quickly emerged that Lively had complained of Baldoni's behavior on the set, accusing him of -- among other things -- speaking inappropriately about his sex life and seeking to add intimate scenes into the film that she had not previously agreed to.
Lively also said lead producer Jamey Heath had watched her while she was topless, despite having been asked to turn away.
Then, Lively alleges, Baldoni ignited a PR campaign to smear her and divert attention away from complaints she might make about the men's alleged actions.
Baldoni has also sued The New York Times after it published a piece about that alleged smear campaign, including what it said were emails and texts discussing the media outcry.
Baldoni countered that Lively hijacked the production of "It Ends With Us" and that she defamed him and, with Reynolds, sought to extort him.
A.Saggese--PV
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