It has been claimed that Justin Baldoni is getting ready to submit an "explosive" counter-complaint against Blake Lively, following the allegations that she made against him regarding sexual harassment on the set of "It Ends With Us" last week.
The actor and filmmaker is reportedly getting ready to hand in legal paperwork when the courts reopen after New Year's Day, according to Daily Mail.
"I am not going to speak to when or how many lawsuits we are filing, but when we file our first lawsuit, it is going to shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative," said Bryan Freedman, the attorney for Baldoni, in an interview with Deadline on Saturday.
"It will be supported by real evidence and tell the true story. In over 30 years of practicing, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled through media manipulation," Freedman added.
It has been reported by the Mail that the lawsuit would entirely invert Lively's narrative, which states that Baldoni and his crisis public relations team reportedly orchestrated a smear campaign in order to "destroy" her name. Leslie Sloane, who is Lively's publicist, will be accused of doing the same thing to Baldoni in the lawsuit at this point.
In a statement that she made to Deadline on Saturday, Sloane remarked on the allegation, saying, "It is clear that Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer Associates are suggesting that I originated press stories about HR complaints on set, which is false."
Per Page Six, the case will assert that the communications that Lively received through a subpoena and which appear to involve his staff discussing how to bury the celebrity have been distorted.
It has also been stated that his team intends to assert that Lively simply made the filing in order to assist in the reconstruction of her reputation following the negative news that she experienced while promoting "It Ends With Us" over the summer that she received.
As the two actors worked independently to promote their own films over the summer, reports of a hatred between them began to circulate for a considerable amount of time. Lively and Baldoni avoided each other at the New York City premiere of the film, which only served to amplify the rumors that were already occurring.
The individuals who were engaged in the production of "It Ends With Us," such as the novel's author, Colleen Hoover, and Jenny Slate, who played Lively's co-star, have shown their public support for Lively.
In the meanwhile, it has been claimed that Baldoni was terminated from his talent agency, WME, and that his former publicist filed a lawsuit against him in response to Lively's legal complaint.
Business Times has reached out to Blake Lively for comments.
