Blake Lively's team accuses Justin Baldoni of 'retaliation' over harassment allegations

Justin Baldoni's $400 million lawsuit against Blake Lively over the controversial circumstances behind the scenes of their movie It Ends with Us has received a response from the actress's legal team.

In a statement, Lively's legal team responded to the director-star's extortion and defamation lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, January 16.

“This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is 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 continued. 

"This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.

"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 public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations," the statement reads.

Lawyers for Lively, 37, say Baldoni and his associates "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. 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."

"Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault," the statement concludes. 

"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 Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”

On the other hand, Baldoni is suing Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and their publicist for alleged extortion, defamation, and interference with his business relations.