Blake Lively Slams Justin Baldoni's 'Desperate' Efforts to 'Overwhelm the Public' With $400M Lawsuit
Following Justin Baldoni's recent lawsuit against Blake Lively, the actress's legal team has issued a piercing response, calling the legal action a familiar tactic often used by those accused of abusive behavior.
According to a statement provided to TMZ, Lively's lawyers said, "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."
The lawyers also said, per PEOPLE, "Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public's ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations."
Lively accused Baldoni and his team of attempting to manipulate the story by falsely alleging that she took over creative decisions and isolated the cast from Baldoni.
"The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer," her lawyers pointed out. "The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony's cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success."
"Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it's her fault."
"Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing."
"In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim," her lawyers said. "The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively's complaint, and it will fail."
The response was issued hours after Baldoni initiated legal action in a New York federal court against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Vision PR, Inc.
Baldoni's lawsuit is seeking $400 million in damages.
The lawsuit alleges extortion, defamation, and breach of contract in connection to the creation and distribution of the film "It Ends With Us."
Lively and Baldoni have been going back and forth with each other, accusing the other of orchestrating smear campaigns to influence public perception in their own interests in the past months.
