Blake Lively's Lawyers Call Justin Baldoni's Lawsuit ‘Another Chapter in the Abuser Playbook’

glamour.com:

's team is firing back after against the actor, her , publicist Leslie Sloane, and Sloane's PR firm on January 16. The suit is the latest development in the messy back-and-forth that began on the set of It Ends With Us, which Baldoni directed and co-starred in opposite Lively.In a statement published by , Lively's legal team referred to the $400 million suit as “desperate" and "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," the statement reads. "This is what experts call DARVO.

Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender."Baldoni previously sued The New York Times for defamation.Baldoni's attorneys filed the lawsuit on claims extortion and defamation, among other allegations, on behalf of the actor/director as well as producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel, crisis publicist Melissa Nathan, and Baldoni’s production company, Wayfarer Studios.A reminder: Earlier this month, the above parties for alleged sexual harassment and for allegedly coordinating a smear campaign intended to damage her reputation. (These lawsuits are not to be confused with Baldoni's action against the New York Times, whom he is to the tune of $250 million).In their statement, Blake Lively's lawyers refer to Baldoni's lawsuit as “meritless" and a distraction tactic.“[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 statement continues. "The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr.