Blake Lively is now facing a new $7 million lawsuit as her legal battle with Justin Baldoni rages on.
The pair have been locked in a bitter public row since working together on the adaptation of Colleen Hoover's It Ends With Us, with Lively claiming in a legal complaint that she experienced sexual harassment from director and co-star Baldoni.
She also argued that there had allegedly been an orchestrated effort from Baldoni’s team to launch a smear campaign against her.
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In response, Baldoni has since sued Lively for defamation and extortion.
Now, a publicist that Lively named in the complaint she filed with the California Civil Rights Department has also sued her.
In her December complaint, her lawyers had alleged that Jed Wallace, from crisis-management firm Street Relations, was hired by Baldoni’s team to help with the fallout from the supposed smear campaign, claiming he ‘weaponized a digital army around the country from New York to Los Angeles to create, seed and promote content that appeared to be authentic on social media platforms and internet chat forums’.
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On Tuesday (4 February), Wallace sued Lively, alleging defamation, with his lawyers saying her petition ‘conceded that Lively has no facts supporting the allegations she made against Wallace and Street in the Precursor which “made headlines around the world” as she now, apparently under the threat of sanctions from one of Plaintiffs' attorneys, sought to “investigate the scope of Mr. Wallace’s conduct.”’
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wallace and Street Relations are seeking a minimum of $7 million in damages, plus ‘a court order stating that he didn’t engage in harassment or retaliation against the actress’.
The filing read: "The statements of fact, actual or implied, of and concerning Plaintiffs in the Precursor and CRD Complaint are false, defamatory, made with either negligence or ‘actual malice’ and have caused millions of dollars in reputational harm including both general and special damages through emotional harm (Wallace), actual damages and real and projected loss of business (Wallace and Street) in an amount that exceeds $1,000,000."
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Charles Babcock, a lawyer for Wallace, told THR that Lively ‘made false statements to the press through a private administrative filing, claiming Mr. Wallace and Street Relations had sexually harassed her, retaliated against her, aided and abetted others who did the same, breached a contract with her and engaged in other improper conduct’, adding: “Mr. Wallace, who is a very private person, has never met or spoken to Ms. Lively. Ever. He has not engaged in a smear campaign against her at any point in time. The decision to file this lawsuit to rightfully protect himself and his family was made after Ms. Lively not only filed against him first in Texas but, indicated she intended to name him in yet another lawsuit.”
Meanwhile, in a statement to People, Lively’s legal team said the latest suit was ‘retaliation’ to her speaking out.
“Another day, another state, another nine-figure lawsuit seeking to sue Ms. Lively 'into oblivion' for speaking out against sexual harassment and retaliation,” they said.
“This is not just a publicity stunt - it is transparent retaliation in response to allegations contained within a sexual harassment and retaliation complaint that Ms. Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department.
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“While this lawsuit will be dismissed, we are pleased that Mr. Wallace has finally emerged from the shadows, and that he too will be held accountable in federal court.”
Tyla has reached out to Lively for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni
Jess Hardiman