Justin Baldoni is finally breaking his silence after filing a $400 million defamation lawsuit against his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
The 40-year-old actor chatted briefly with videographers when he was spotted walking into Los Angeles’ LAX airport early on Friday morning in a clip obtained by TMZ.
Baldoni was joined at the airport by his family, including his wife Emily, his daughter Maiya, nine, and his son Maxwell, seven.
The actor is suing Lively and Reynolds, as well as Lively’s publicist Leslie Soane, for alleged defamation, as well as civil extortion, and false light invasion of privacy, among other claims.
It follows an earlier lawsuit seeking $250 million that he filed against the New York Times over its reporting on Lively’s own federal lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment and orchestrating a smear campaign against her.
Baldoni, who was dressed casually in a black hoodie and matching New York Yankees cap, said he was ‘grateful to be with the family’ after he ascended an escalator.
Justin Baldoni is finally breaking his silence after filing a $400M defamation suit against his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively and husband Ryan Reynolds. He was spotted with his family at Los Angeles’ LAX airport early Friday, according to TMZ; seen December 4 in Beverly Hills
When asked how he would make it past the ‘tough time’ he was dealing with, Baldoni said he would lean on his ‘amazing friends and family.’
He concluded by adding that his ‘faith’ was essential to making it through his ongoing conflict with Lively and Reynolds.
On Thursday, Baldoni escalated their legal war of words when he filed a $400 million against Lively, Reynolds and her publicist, accusing them conspiring to trash his reputation with sexual harassment allegations that Lively previously made.
In court papers obtained by DailyMail.com, Baldoni accused Lively of hijacking the filming of their romantic drama It Ends With Us — which he directed.
He also accused her and her Deadpool star husband of ruining his experience of the film’s premiere by forcing him and his family to wait in a basement holding area surrounded by overstocked concession stand offerings and security guards to ensure that she wouldn’t see him in the theater.
In response to Baldoni’s new lawsuit, Lively’s attorneys issued a fiery statement to DailyMail.com, declaring: ‘This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook.’
They added: ‘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 statement claimed Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios ‘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.’
In court papers obtained by DailyMail.com, Baldoni accused Lively of hijacking the filming of It Ends With Us — which he directed — and ruining his experience at the premiere by forcing his family to wait in a basement so that she wouldn’t see him; seen in August in NYC
At the airport, Baldoni said he was ‘grateful to be with the family.’ He said he would make it through this ‘tough time’ by leaning on his ‘amazing friends and family and faith’; seen in December 2023 in NYC
Lively’s attorneys added: ‘They are trying to shift the narrative to Ms. Lively by falsely claiming that she seized creative control and alienated the cast from Mr. Baldoni. The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer.
‘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.’
They continued: ‘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.’
The statement concluded: ‘In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.’
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