Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit claims that Blake Lively used Taylor Swift as leverage trendy blogger

The legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in the wake of “It Ends With Us” expanded the blast area Thursday morning, with a new lawsuit filed by Baldoni involving text messages between Lively and Baldoni, her co-star and director. In the texts, Lively appears to be alluding to Taylor Swift as “one of her dragons.” The star is a lively friend.

In the lawsuit filed against Lively and her husband, actor and producer Ryan Reynolds, on Thursday morning, Baldoni alleges that the couple hijacked the “It Ends With Us” film and sought to destroy his public reputation with false allegations of sexual harassment. Baldoni is demanding $400 million in compensation. Swift is not named as a defendant in the suit, nor is she named in the suit other than a reference to “Taylor” in a text message Baldoni sent to Lively.

Representatives for Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In text messages between Baldoni and Lively included on pages 23-25 ​​of the 179-page file, Baldoni discusses a rooftop scene in the film that Lively allegedly reworked in the script. Baldoni’s lawyers claim their client “felt compelled to text Lively to say he liked her pages and didn’t need Reynolds and her famous friend to pressure him.”

The lawsuit alleges that Lively, along with Reynolds, gradually asserted control over “It Ends With Us” during production, including the rooftop scene in which Lively and Baldoni’s characters meet for the first time. According to the filing, Lively summoned Baldoni to her penthouse in New York, where Reynolds and a “celebrity friend” — who appears to be Swift — praised Lively’s version of the scene.

“I was also working on a rooftop scene today, and I really like what you did. It’s really real,” Baldoni wrote in the text message. “Makes it more fun and interesting. (And I would feel this way without Ryan and Taylor) You truly are an all-around talent. Really excited and grateful to be doing this together.

In a later text from Lively, according to the complaint, the star refers to Reynolds and another person (whose name has been redacted) as “absolute giants as writers and storytellers outside of their core work.” Lively continues, “They also know that I’m not always good at making sure I’m seen and exploited for fear of threatening their ego, or for fear of affecting the ease of the process. They don’t care. That’s why everyone listens to them with so much respect and enthusiasm. So I think I should I stop worrying about people liking me.”

The lengthy letter concludes with Lively comparing herself to Khaleesi, the dragon-wielding queen played by Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones, and hinting at the powerful powers she has in her corner. Lively wrote: “If you’ve ever watched Game of Thrones, you’ll appreciate that I’m Khaleesi, and like her, I have a few dragons. For better or worse, but usually for the better. Because my dragons also protect those I fight for. So we all really benefit from those My wonderful beasts will too, I can promise you that.”

Baldoni’s complaint asserts that this was Lively’s way of putting pressure on Baldoni.

“The message could not have been clearer,” the complaint states. “Baldoni wasn’t just dealing with Lively. He was also facing Lively’s two ‘dragons’, two of the most influential and wealthy celebrities in the world, who weren’t afraid to make things very difficult for him.

Lively filed her own lawsuit against Baldoni, producer Jami Heath, and publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Appel on December 31, 10 days after filing an initial complaint against them with the California Department of Civil Rights. The actress accused Baldoni and others of organizing a secret media smear campaign against her, in retaliation for her complaints about facing alleged sexual harassment on the film set. In response, Baldoni first sued The New York Times — which was the first media outlet to report on Lively’s complaint — alleging that the newspaper worked with Lively’s team and took the text messages out of context in order to defame him. At the time, Baldoni’s attorney, Brian Friedman, promised to file more lawsuits.

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