Justin Baldoni’s Countersuit Against Blake Lively Will ‘Shock Everyone,’ Lawyer Says; Lively PR Rep Makes ‘False’ Claims About Fake HR Stories – Update

UPDATED with statements from Baldoni’s attorney and Lively PR: The dispute between Blake Lively and her, which now also involves lawyers It ends with us Co-star and director Justin Baldoni shows no signs of calming down, as it was reported on Saturday that Baldoni plans to file a countersuit in response to Lively’s lawsuit a week ago.

On December 20, Lively filed an 80-page lawsuit against Baldoni, citing his inappropriate behavior on set and his involvement in an alleged smear campaign against her – all allegations he denies.

More from Deadline

Well, the United Kingdom Daily Mail The newspaper reports that Baldoni, along with his business partner and Wayfarer Studios CEO Jamey Heath and the publicists named in Lively’s complaint, are preparing to file a countersuit. The post reports that attorney Bryan Freedman’s papers will be filed when the courts reopen after the New Year’s break, including the following claims:

• Lively’s Vision PR team, led by CEO Leslie Sloane, was responsible for the smears against Baldoni, not the other way around, as her lawsuit alleges

• WhatsApp messages from Baldoni’s team were presented out of context in a way that changed their meaning

• That Lively’s own publicist spread stories that put Baldoni in a bad light with news organizations

• Lively’s legal action is intended to restore her public image after she received bad press during the film’s promotional campaign.

It should be noted that the Daily Mail is already mentioned several times in Lively’s filing with the California Department of Civil Rights as a venue for parties in this ongoing dispute over what happened It ends with us. Today’s report follows that perspective by focusing on Baldoni and not providing a statement from Lively’s team.

Despite, or perhaps because of, rumors of on-set friction and social media uproar, It ends with us – based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 book about domestic violence between a married couple – was successful in the cinema, grossing more than $350 million at the box office on a production budget of $25 million .

In a statement through her attorney when she filed her complaint, Lively said, “I hope my legal action will help lift the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and protect others.” , who may be targeted.” To be clear, Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation complaint to Golden State authorities is not an actual lawsuit. However, setting the stage is just the prelude to a report that is due to be submitted soon – so to speak, we hear.

As a result of this initial submission, Lively received widespread support from figures across the industry. Baldoni was dropped by his agents at WME (which represents Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds), a Women’s Solidarity Award was revoked and his podcast co-host abandoned her project. He is also being sued by his ex-publicist.

To head off a potential countersuit, Vision PR’s Sloane today offered Deadline a different perspective on the events in question.

“I was contacted by Sara Nathan (Melissa Nathan’s sister) on August 11th and submitted an anonymous tip received by Page Six regarding alleged staff complaints on the set of It ends with usSloane says, noticing this New York Post Media liaison by Baldoni’s team, led by Crisis PR Director Melissa Nathan.

“I was subsequently contacted by various press outlets asking about allegations of staff complaints,” Sloane said. “When contacted, I responded to press questions by referring them to Wayfarer or Sony for information on staff complaints,” the veteran Flack added.

“It is clear that Mr. Baldoni and his Wayfarer associates claim that I wrote press reports about personnel complaints on set, which is false. Please read Ms. Lively’s complaint and the complaint filed by Jonesworks LLC and Stephanie Jones, which details the campaign against my client.”

Sloane’s statement was also provided to this Daily Mailwe’re told – although it doesn’t seem to have made the breakthrough.

On the other hand, Baldoni’s lead attorney Freedman would neither confirm nor deny this Daily Mail’s itself exclusively stated that a countersuit is imminent on January 2nd. Still, in typical fashion, Freedman was buoyant when speaking to Deadline today.

“I won’t talk about when or how many lawsuits we file, but when we file our first lawsuit it will shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” the legal Hollywood street fighter told Deadline. “It will be backed by real evidence and tell the real story. In my 30+ years of practice, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled by media manipulation. It reminds me of what NBC tried to do to Megyn Kelly and Gabrielle Union and we all know how that ended. Stand by.”

The best of Deadline

Sign up for the Deadline newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.