As Justin Baldoni files suit against Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and her publicist, he also gives a glimpse inside the “segregated” premiere celebration he had for It Ends with Us after being “forced to organize their own event.”
Rumors of the since-legally-confirmed feud between It Ends With Us star Blake Lively and her costar and director Justin Baldoni began back in August, following the film’s premiere — and now Baldoni is giving more insight into what allegedly went down that fateful evening.
Both actors are locked into a bitter battle, with Lively accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment and his team of orchestrating a “smear campaign” against her. Baldoni, meanwhile, has now sued her for defamation — and is also suing The New York Times for $250 million over the newspaper’s bombshell article on Lively’s original filing.
In his new suit, via TMZ, he claims that — following a number of allegations of issues between Baldoni and Lively during production — while he was celebrating his wife’s birthday overseas, he was “informed that Lively demanded he not attend the Film’s premiere on August 6, 2024.”
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“Lively further threatened that if Baldoni attended the premiere, she and the majority of the cast would boycott. It remained unclear what Lively had communicated to or promised the cast, but they now also refused to attend if Baldoni was present,” claims the lawsuit.
Baldoni and the studio, per the docs, “refused to succumb to the bullying tactics” and “refused to give in to this entirely unreasonable demand and valiantly searched for a compromise with Lively” so they could attend. He claims that even a few days before the premiere, he wasn’t sure whether he would be “allowed” to attend.
“Finally, through Sony, Wayfarer persuaded Lively to ‘permit’ Baldoni and the Wayfarer team, along with their friends and family, to attend—though only under demeaning and humiliating conditions,” they claim, saying they were “relegated to a separate theater to view the Film, required to arrive at a different time than the rest of the cast, and instructed to leave the red carpet immediately once Lively arrived.”
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Baldoni, per the suit, was also “excluded from the official celebrity after-party, despite it being an event ultimately paid for by Sony and Wayfarer” and, as a result, had to “quickly organize and fund a separate after-party for himself and the Wayfarer team, forcing the company to cover the costs for two events — one for Lively and everyone else, and one for Baldoni and Wayfarer’s own friends, family, crew, and team.”
While Baldoni did do interviews on the red carpet, he claims his time was “abruptly cut short when it was conveyed that Lively was on her way, and he was instructed to stop immediately.” It’s then, he claims that “he and his family were quickly ushered away” and escorted “to the basement of the building.”
“There, they were confined to a makeshift holding area surrounded by concession stand stock, with only foldout tables and chairs arranged in a square,” reads the suit. “Surrounded by close friends, family, soda bottles, and a lot of love, the irony of being held in a basement on what was arguably one of the most important nights of Baldoni’s career thus far, was not lost on anyone.”
Two photos from inside said “basement” were also included in the lawsuit. In one (above), Baldoni is seen cheering while he and those around him are seated in folding chairs. Another (below) shows his group posing alongside the soda and water bottles.
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The suit alleges that Baldoni and his group were eventually “ushered” in a separate theater to see the film, after the main area was “deemed ‘clear'” of Lively and her guests.
The docs claim that after the movie, they were again “quickly escorted out of the building by security to avoid even a chance of interaction with Lively or her guests.”
Of the separate Wayfarer-organized after-party, the lawsuit notes that it was a “dry” event — writing, “in part to acknowledge the known negative relationship between alcohol and domestic violence.” It also claims that “the atmosphere and tone of the Wayfarer after-party were aligned with Baldoni’s vision for the Film, focusing on celebration and gratitude, despite being humiliated.”
The suit is seeking no less than $400 million in damages
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