Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have asked a judge to dismiss Justin Baldoni’s defamation lawsuit after Blake sued her It Ends With Us co-star for sexual harassment
Justin Baldoni has shared alleged text messages from Ryan Reynolds amid his ongoing legal battle with Blake Lively.
Last month, Blake, 37, sued Justin, 41, who she stars with in It Ends With Us, for sexual harassment and allegedly causing “severe emotional distress”. Justin has, however, strongly refuted the allegations.
In January, the actor countersued Blake and her husband, Ryan, 48, for £321 million for an apparent attempt to “destroy” his reputation and career. It’s since been claimed Blake and Ryan’s lawyers have filed a notice to state that they will seek to dismiss Justin’s lawsuit.
Over the weekend, the actor and director published a website with his latest court filings, including a timeline of alleged events prior to the tumultuous legal battle between the Hollywood A-listers.
On his website, which is titled ‘Lawsuit Info,’ Justin includes a 168-page ‘timeline of relevant events’ to defend himself against Blake’s allegations that he sexually harassed her during the time they were filming the romantic flick together.
The document includes alleged text messages exchanges between the actor and Blake and also previously unseen conversations between Justin and Ryan, who has been married to the Gossip Girl star for 12 years.
According to his court filing, Justin reached out to Ryan on February 28, 2023 after asking Blake for his phone number. In the alleged text messages, they spoke just over a month before Ryan allegedly swore at Justin and accused him of fat-shaming his wife.
In April 2023, Justin was reportedly summoned by Blake to her New York City penthouse, per Justin’s lawsuit against the couple. The altercation allegedly happened during a meeting held at Blake and Ryan’s home on January 4, 2024. The meeting was also attended by other It Ends With Us producers as well as a rep for Sony. Justin also asserts that he apologised profusely at the time.
After Blake allegedly accused Justin of ‘shaming her for her body and weight’ during filming, Justin denied the allegations, which he called ‘categorically false’. He also claims Ryan said to him in an aggressive manner: “How dare you f***ing ask about my wife’s weight? What’s wrong with you?”
Per legal documents, Justin claimed that ‘the tone from Reynolds and Lively was so aggressive that [he] felt he had no choice but to offer repeated (and completely unwarranted) apologies.’ However, a source who was allegedly at the meeting told TMZ that Ryan was ‘angry and stern’, but claims the accusation of him ‘screaming’ is ‘overblown’, adding that the actor’s tone was ‘impassioned’. The source insisted it didn’t escalate to screaming or berating. The Mirror has reached out to Justin’s reps for comment.
Just a little over a month earlier, Justin claims he texted the Deadpool star and they had a pleasant conversation. “I asked Blake for your number well over a month ago and have wanted to text you for a while now, but my good ol’ nerves got the best of me,’ Justin allegedly wrote in his text to Ryan. He then referred to himself as “the guy who brought his literal baggage to his meeting with your wife”.
In his self-proclaimed “awkward” text, Justin then says he spoke about his marriage to Emily with Ryan, texting: “Emily and I have a very small circle. We live out in the country in [sic] and pretty much just hang out with each other. We’ve known all our closest friends for years, and I don’t really have any close female friends that my wife isn’t also friends with, let alone married ones. And so I guess this is just an awkward text to say I’d like to be friends.”
He then alleges Ryan replied: “What a loving and generous message. Thank you. We’re both looking forward to getting to know you and your family better. We’re also big fans over here. Since before we met, and more-so after.”
The Mirror has contacted Ryan’s reps for comment on this story.
WHATSAPP GROUP: Be first to get the juiciest celebrity news to your phone by joining our Celebs WhatsApp here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up to the Mirror’s Celebs newsletter here for all the biggest showbiz scandals, tell-all interviews and exclusive pictures straight to your inbox.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs onTikTok,Snapchat,Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,YouTubeandThreads.
