Blake Livelys legal team has a response for Justin Baldonis new lawsuit against the actress, saying its another chapter in the abuser playbook.

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, read the statement from the Livelys lawyers.

Lively is represented by Manatt, Phelps Phillips. The response was issued hours after Baldoni filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Lively, and her husband Ryan Reynolds, alongside two publicists, alleging extortion, defamation and claims related to breach of contract tied to the making and release of It Ends With Us.

The movie was directed by Baldoni, who stars alongside Lively. Both are credited PGA producers on the pic, which may have been a blockbuster at the box office but has become the subject of cascading legal actions that began when Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and waging a smear campaign against her retaliation for speaking up about misconduct on set. Her complaint was filed in late December with the California Civil Rights Department before a formal lawsuit was lodged earlier this month in New York federal court.

Baldoni who is likewise claiming he is the subject of a smear campaign and denies any sexual harassment is joined in his lawsuit by his movie studio, Wayfarer, and its chief executive Jamey Heath, alongside their public relations representatives, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel. They are seeking at least $400 million in damages. Wayfarer is backed by billionaire Steve Sarowitz.

Bryan Freedman, the no-holds-barred L.A. attorney who is repping the Baldoni side of the aisle, said the lawsuit filed early Thursday is based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her teams duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media.

He added, It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret.

In her suit, Lively names Baldoni, Wayfarer, Jennifer Abel, who is Baldonis publicist, and veteran crisis P.R. executive Melissa Nathan. The latter was hired by Baldoni around the time of the films premiere, when virtually the entire cast sidelined their director in support of Lively, who refused to be photographed with him on the red carpet or appear with him at junkets.

Baldonis narrative is that he was under duress when he and Wayfarer agreed to sign a list of demands if Lively were to return to set following the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The document demanded that certain behavior stop, such as coming into her trailer unannounced, and that Baldoni stop talking about his porn addiction. There was also allegedly a kissing scene in which Baldoni strayed off script and licked her neck.

The doc was signed in early November 2023. In early January 2024, before production resumed following the actors strike, a meeting was called at Lively and Reynolds loft in New York City. Baldoni has alleged that things got heated when Reynolds accused him of fat-shaming his wife (Lively had her fourth child, a son, in early 2023, just before the shoot began).

Wayfarer was blindsided when Lively, upon the conclusion of the industry strikes, refused to return to production absent the companys agreeing to her non-negotiable Protections for Return to Production (the Return to Production Demands) that insinuated misconduct had occurred during filming (which, as evidence will establish, did not). Wayfarer was equally blindsided when Lively leveraged this document,essentially signed under duress,to seize control of the Film, states the suit filed Thursday by Baldoni.

Livelys lawyers countered, 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 Sonys cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success.

Sony did indeed go with Livelys cut of the film, and has issued public support of her in the wake of the dispute with Baldoni.

In describing how Lively allegedly slowly and deliberately took over the movie, Baldonis lawsuit notes that she took control of her wardrobe early on, including asking for expensive shoes.

Livelys lawyers said Baldonis response to the sexual harassment allegations is she wanted it, its her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing.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. Livelys complaint, and it will fail.

Continuing, they said that Wayfarer has opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits and threaten litigation to overwhelm the publics ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.

The same day that legal action was initiated last month in federal court by Lively,Baldoni sued The New York Times for allegedly conspiring with Livelys public relations team to advance an unverified and self-serving narrative while ignoring evidence that contradicted her claims.

More to come.