Justin Baldoni to Sue Blake Lively 'Soon' in Response to Sexual Harassment Allegations

Almost a week after Blake Lively accused her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and launching a retaliatory smear campaign against her, Baldoni’s legal team has confirmed plans to file a countersuit. The actor/director intends to take legal action against Lively in the coming days.

Attorney Bryan Freedman spoke to NBC News in an interview that aired Thursday, January 2, revealing Baldoni’s intentions. "Absolutely ... yes," Freedman responded when asked if his client would sue Lively. He added, “We plan to release every single text message between the two of them. We want the truth to be out there. We want the documents to be out there. We want people to make their determination based on receipts.”

Sources tell PEOPLE that the legal action will include Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios (behind It Ends with Us), his publicist Jennifer Abel, and crisis PR specialist Melissa Nathan. The suit will also name Lively, her publicist Leslie Sloane, and Baldoni’s former publicist Stephanie Jones. Notably, Jones filed a lawsuit against Baldoni, Wayfarer, Abel, and Nathan on December 24. Freedman did not provide a specific date for the countersuit but confirmed it would be filed "soon."

Sony Pictures

This countersuit is in response to Lively's December 20 complaint, where she accused Baldoni of causing her "grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety" during the production of It Ends with Us and its promotion. Her allegations include Baldoni showing her explicit images and videos, probing her personal sex life, and attempting to introduce intimate scenes into the film without her consent. Lively also claimed that Baldoni, alongside Abel and Nathan, manipulated social media and the press to ruin her reputation.

On December 31, Baldoni took further legal action, filing a libel lawsuit against The New York Times in response to its December 21 article titled "‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine." The lawsuit accuses the newspaper of using "cherry-picked" and altered communications taken out of context to mislead readers regarding Lively’s allegations and the It Ends with Us set drama. Baldoni’s lawsuit also names Wayfarer Studios, producers Jamey Heath and Steve Sarowitz, publicists Abel and Nathan, and others as plaintiffs.

The New York Times has defended its reporting, stating that the article was "meticulously and responsibly reported." In a statement, Lively shared her stance with the paper: “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”

AFP

In response to Lively’s California complaint, Baldoni’s lawyer Freedman issued a statement to PEOPLE, claiming that Lively's allegations were designed to "fix her negative reputation" and calling the claims “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.”

Lively has since filed a federal complaint in New York against Wayfarer Studios and others involved in the It Ends with Us production. “Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department Complaint,” her attorneys said in a statement on December 31. “While we will not litigate this matter in the press, we do encourage people to read Ms. Lively’s complaint in its entirety. We look forward to addressing each and every one of Wayfarer’s allegations in court.”

Since Lively’s complaint, she has received support from her famous friends, including A Simple Favor director Paul Feig and her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars America Ferrera, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn.

Baldoni, on the other hand, has been dropped by his agency, WME, which continues to represent Lively. His Man Enough podcast co-host also announced her departure from the show on December 23.

Freedman also spoke to PEOPLE on December 29, saying that Baldoni’s countersuit would be “a deliberate pursuit of truth.” He added, “This lawsuit will uncover and expose the false and destructive narrative that was intentionally engineered by a trusted media publication who relied upon nefarious sources and neglected a thorough fact-checking process to confirm the validity of these texts.”