Ryan Reynolds is reported to have used strong language in a dispute with Justin Baldoni concerning a scene that Blake Lively was unwilling to shoot.
A dispute has emerged between Lively and Baldoni, stemming from their work on the film “It Ends With Us.”
Before Christmas, Lively, known for her role in “Gossip Girl,” filed a legal accusation against Baldoni, who is both her co-star and director, alleging a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and a campaign to harm her reputation.
Following up with a formal lawsuit on New Year’s Eve, the 37-year-old actress took action against Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios.
Lively’s complaint includes allegations that Baldoni introduced unnecessary sexual content and nude scenes and made remarks about her weight.
Her legal team claims that her decision to speak out has led to more retaliation and attacks.
In response, Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, labeled the accusations as “categorically false” and filed a $400 million countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her publicist, and PR team on January 16.
In an aspect of the new lawsuit, Baldoni’s claims suggest that Taylor Swift, a close friend of the couple, and Reynolds compelled him to accept Lively’s modifications to the script.
According to PEOPLE Magazine, the lawsuit describes Swift and Reynolds as “dragons” and “two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who were not afraid to make things very difficult for him.”
Lively’s legal representatives responded to the Daily Mail: “This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook.
“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.”
Newly revealed transcripts from Baldoni’s lawsuit suggest that Reynolds swore at Baldoni for making inappropriate comments about his wife’s weight in relation to a scene where Baldoni was to lift her.
The documents claim Baldoni privately asked his trainer about Lively’s weight to train for a lift scene, intending to avoid injury.
During the altercation, Reynolds reportedly said, “How dare you f**king ask about my wife’s weight? What’s wrong with you?”
Baldoni’s legal team describes the encounter as “aggressive” and notes that Lively decided against performing the scene.
This follows another lawsuit filed by Baldoni’s legal team against The New York Times for libel and false light invasion of privacy over a piece that included Lively’s account.
Baldoni is counter-suing for civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, negligent interference with prospective economic advantage, and intentional interference with both contractual relations and prospective economic advantage.
Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, previously commented: “This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.”
He added: “Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.”