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The legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni is still ongoing. Lively blasted his complaint in a harsh statement after Baldoni sued him on January 16—nearly a month after she had sued him, claiming he had sexually assaulted her on the set of their movie It Ends With Us and his production company Wayfarer.
In a statement to E! News, Lively's attorneys stated, "This is a classic tale: A woman comes forward with hard proof of sexual harassment and retaliation, and the abuser tries to turn the tables on the victim." Experts refer to this as DARVO. Attack. Deny. Victim Offender in reverse.
Described as "another chapter in the abuser playbook," Baldoni's attorneys said their case aims to "overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations."
"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 added. "The evidence will demonstrate that Wayfarer and Mr. Baldoni caused problems for the cast and others. The proof will also demonstrate that Sony requested Ms. Lively to supervise their version of the movie, which they ultimately decided to distribute and found to be a huge hit.
Additionally, according to Lively's team, Baldoni's "strategy of attacking the woman is desperate."
"Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault," the statement read. "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."
Both Lively's statement and Justin's lawsuit are part of a months-long legal battle between the two celebrities, during which they have accused each other of launching a smear campaign to change public opinion to their advantage.
Baldini is suing Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, and publicist Leslie Sloane for $400 million in the lawsuit that E! News was able to get.
