Justin Baldoni has released a statement he claims was written by the couple Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, calling on them to accept blame for the backlash surrounding the actress during the promotion of the film "I Ends With Us."
Baldoni, facing sexual harassment allegations from the actress, launched a website on Saturday to defend himself, which features his amended $400 million defamation lawsuit against Lively and her husband Reynolds, as well as a timeline of relevant events related to the case that is included as evidence.
As the Daily Mail reports, one of the key documents shared on the website includes an alleged statement that Lively and Reynolds wanted Baldoni to release through his production company, Wayfarer, in an attempt to soften the negative image of Lively. The backlash stemmed from an online story that accused Lively of being insensitive to the film’s theme of domestic violence and acting like a “mean girl,” NBC News reports. Lively has claimed that Baldoni’s team played a role in tarnishing her reputation, a charge her lawyer has denied.
The aforementioned statement from August 12, 2024, reads: -“This Ends with Us” was a troubled production for which we take full responsibility. We are deeply sorry for everyone we have upset privately and publicly. Blake Lively, Colin Hoover and the entire cast have worked professionally every step of the way, any negativity directed at them is our own. We have mutually agreed that the actors will promote the film separately and it is understandable why. We have always said that we are not perfect and that even if we unintentionally make a mistake, we will always admit it. We hold ourselves accountable, it is no one’s business but ours, part of being “human enough”. We will practice what we preach. We learn and grow from the experience and thank everyone for their patience as we find a better way to move forward. We are very proud of the film and how it has been received. Part of our job is to have uncomfortable conversations about progress. "The film does it on screen, and we do it off screen. I thank the actors and the audience for the opportunity to be imperfect and give them the space to learn and grow," the statement that Baldoni was supposedly supposed to release, but was not his, reads.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Lively and Reynolds for comment. According to Baldoni's court filings on his website, neither he nor his team believed the statement would have the desired effect.
Baldoni's team claims that his then-representatives, WME, agree with Wayfarer that the statement was vague, implied guilt without substance, and failed to address the issues at hand. Furthermore, if the goal was to mitigate the negative online attention directed at Lively, the statement would have the opposite effect. In response, Wayfarer, Baldoni, and Heath have all denied the claim, firmly denying any statement falsely claiming responsibility for nonexistent issues.
The actor's website features alleged handwritten notes from Baldoni's meeting with the film's sex coordinator. The notes, which Baldoni claims were shared with Lively during one of their scriptwriting meetings in New York, mention explicit scenes involving Lively's character, such as "going down on her," "orgasm," and "foreplay."
The document states: "These notes later became the basis for Lively's lawsuit in which she claims Baldoni talked about her sex life and forced her into unnecessary orgasmic scenes. Ideally, these conversations should have taken place between Blake and an intimacy coordinator, as Baldoni requested. However, Blake refused to meet with her, leaving Baldoni in the less than ideal position of having to deliver these notes to Lively in her attic."
Blake Lively, 37, filed a lawsuit against Baldoni on December 31, 2024, accusing him of sexual harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, emotional distress, invasion of privacy and lost wages. Baldoni denied the allegations and filed his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively, her publicist and her husband Reynolds.
