'Dragged' into the issue: Blake Lively's publicist wants to be removed from Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit
The publicist of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds is asking to be removed from the $400 million (P23.4 billion) lawsuit filed by Justin Baldoni against the couple last January.
PEOPLE Magazine reported that Leslie Sloane, through her lawyer Sigrid McCawley, filed a motion before a New York federal court on Feb. 20 to remove her and her firm Vision PR from Baldoni's suit and cover their legal fees.
Baldoni's complaint against Lively and Reynolds alleges her of hijacking the production of It Ends with Us and that she defamed him. They were co-stars in the movie, which he also directed.
He also accused her and Reynolds of extorting him.
McCawley said Sloane was "dragged" into the legal battle as a "smoke and mirrors exercise to distract" from Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation claims against Baldoni.
The lawyer said there's no "basis" for accusing Sloane of planting "malicious stories" or launching a "smear campaign."
Sloane's legal team said Baldoni's lawyers don't "identify where or how the alleged extortion occurred" or how she "received anything of value because of that extortion."
Sloane's lawyers also defended Lively, saying Baldoni's claims regarding creative issues are "irrelevant and tellingly sexist."
"Because Ms. Lively—an executive producer on the film—dared to offer input on the script, wardrobe and editing, Baldoni blasts her as 'tyrannical' and 'aggressive,' among other coded terms," they said.
"When Ms. Lively bravely spoke up about Baldoni’s predatory behavior, he and his team used every weapon in their arsenal to blame, embarrass and silence her, going so far as to hire a crisis PR manager who promised to 'bury' Ms. Lively and 'destroy' her life," they added.
The lawyers were referring to the New York Times's report titled 'We Can Bury Anyone': Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine. The report used excerpts from alleged text messages and emails that Lively obtained through a subpoena and detailed the work of crisis management firm TAG PR for Baldoni, including allegedly planting negative stories in the media.
Baldoni's camp has yet to react to the filing.
Ongoing legal battle
The legal saga of Lively and Baldoni stemmed from her filing a sexual harassment complaint against him and Jamey Heath of Wayfarer Studios, the producer of It Ends With Us. She also accused them of running a smear campaign against her.
In her complaint, Lively accused Baldoni and Heath of telling her about their past sexual relationships and "previous porn addiction."
Heath also allegedly showed Lively a video of his wife naked and giving birth.
Baldoni and Heath likewise supposedly entered Lively's makeup trailer without permission, "including when she was breastfeeding her infant child."
Lively also recalled Baldoni claiming he could communicate with the dead, including her father, Ernie Lively. She found it "off-putting and violative."
The Times then published its 'We Can Bury Anyone' report.
Baldoni's camp has called the accusations in the report "categorically false."
His lawyer Bryan Freedman said a crisis manager was hired ahead of the film's marketing campaign "due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production."
On Jan. 1, Baldoni filed a $250 million (PhP14.5 billion) lawsuit against the Times—plus 10 other plaintiffs, including publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel—for libel, false light invasion of privacy, promissory fraud, and breach of implied-in-fact contract for its report.
The Times defended its article as "meticulously and responsibly reported."
Later, Baldoni's camp released a series of video takes during the production of It Ends with Us in an attempt to debunk Lively's sexual harassment allegations against him. It also announced plans to launch a website containing "all correspondence" with her and "relevant videos."
Lively and Reynolds, in turn, requested a gag order.
On Feb. 3, Baldoni launched a website containing two documents: his $400 million 224-page amended complaint against Lively and Reynolds and a 168-page "timeline of relevant events," which included a compilation of screenshots as an additional exhibit to his amended complaint. It came two days before their first court hearing.
Last Feb. 14, Lively filed a subpoena for Baldoni's phone records, with her lawyers saying the information they're requesting could “provide critical and irrefutable evidence not only about who, but also about when, where, and how their retaliation plan came together and operated.”
On Feb. 19, Lively amended her complaint against Baldoni and Heath, saying she "was not alone" in experiencing on-set misconduct as saying two other actresses had their "own uncomfortable experiences" with the men.
Freedman said the amended complaint was “filled with unsubstantial hearsay” and had a “lack of actual evidence."
