Blake Lively’s legal team has recently responded to accusations made by Justin Baldoni’s lawyers, claiming they plan to launch “more attacks” against the actress. The latest developments stem from Lively’s serious claims of sexual harassment and retaliation that she filed in a lawsuit.
On January 6, Lively’s team spoke to PEOPLE, stating that her claims are “backed by concrete facts.” “This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation,” Lively’s legal team emphasized. They further stated that “as alleged in Blake’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer [Studios] and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a movie set.”
Lively’s attorneys expressed concern over what they called “more attacks” launched against the actress after her initial filing. “The response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively,” the statement read.
They continued, “Sexual harassment and retaliation are illegal in every workplace and every industry.” The statement also denounced common tactics used to discredit victims of misconduct, explaining that “classic tactics to distract from allegations of this type of misconduct are to blame the victim by suggesting that they invited the conduct, brought it on themselves, misunderstood the intentions, or even lied.”
Another “classic tactic” Lively’s team pointed out is “to reverse the victim and offender and suggest that the offender is the victim. These concepts normalize and trivialize allegations of serious misconduct.”
The actress’s legal team made it clear that media statements do not serve as a defense against Lively’s legal claims. “Most importantly, media statements are not a defense to Blake’s legal claims,” they added. “We will continue to prosecute her claims in federal court, where the rule of law determines who prevails, not hyperbole and threats.”
Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni and several others, including his partners and publicists, accuses them of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign aimed at tarnishing her public image.
In response, Baldoni’s legal team denied the allegations, and on December 31, 2024, the actor-director filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times for its coverage of Blake’s complaint. The case is now set to unfold in the courts, where both sides will present their arguments.