By Isabella Simonetti and Sarah Krouse

A Hollywood public relations battle involving the stars of "It Ends With Us" has escalated into a full-fledged legal brawl.

Actor and director Justin Baldoni and his publicists sued the New York Times on Tuesday for libel, seeking $250 million in damages over a story published earlier in December about an alleged campaign to harm Blake Lively's reputation. The story included details from a legal complaint Lively filed with the California Civil Rights Department alleging sexual harassment on set and retaliation by Baldoni after she complained about his behavior.

Also on Tuesday, Lively sued Baldoni, his publicists, Wayfarer Studios and others involved in the company in New York federal court echoing the allegations in her California complaint. Lively is seeking a monetary judgment for "mental pain and anguish and severe and serious emotional distress."

The suits further widen the blast radius of a feud that has drawn in the stars' publicists and a major media outlet.

Baldoni, Wayfarer, which he co-founded, its CEO Jamey Heath and their PR representatives are among the plaintiffs in the libel suit, which alleges that the Times used "cherry-picked" and altered communications that lacked important context to publish a false and defamatory story. The suit also claims Baldoni and his representatives weren't given enough time to respond to the allegations in the story before publication.

The Times story was a product of a "vicious smear campaign fully orchestrated by Blake Lively and her team," Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement. The paper, he said, had "cowered to the wants and whims" of "Hollywood elites."

A spokeswoman for the Times said the story was "meticulously and responsibly reported. It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and at length in the article."

She said the paper plans to defend against the lawsuit and that, "to date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error."

"It Ends With Us," based on Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel, stars Baldoni, who also directed the film, and Lively. It follows a relationship between Lily Bloom, a young woman who starts her own flower shop in Boston, and Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon who becomes abusive.

The film, co-financed by Wayfarer, grossed more than $350 million worldwide following its August release, topping expectations.

Lively's New York lawsuit and earlier California filing say the actress raised concerns during filming about "invasive, unwelcome, unprofessional and sexually inappropriate behavior" by Baldoni and Heath. She alleged that Baldoni inserted unwanted and gratuitous sexual content and that he and Heath entered her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed, including while having body makeup removed.

Lively's legal filings include a list of behaviors that she demanded cease before filming resumed earlier this year following the Hollywood actor and writer strikes. She alleges that the parties agreed, among other things, that there would be "no more showing nude videos or images of women" to Lively and her employees, no further mentions of Baldoni's and Heath's previous "pornography addiction" and "no more descriptions of their own genitalia" to Lively. The agreement said there could be no retaliation of any kind against Lively for raising concerns about the conduct described.

Baldoni said in his suit against the Times that "no such document was ever presented" to him or Wayfarer and couldn't have been agreed to. The list of items in her filing falsely suggests that the alleged incidents had previously taken place, his suit said.

Lively alleges that Baldoni later hired crisis communications specialist Melissa Nathan, who proposed a plan to counter potential negative publicity that included the use of artificial social-media fan engagement and planting negative stories about Lively. Nathan in the past has represented high powered talent including actor Johnny Depp and rapper Travis Scott.

The complaint alleges that Baldoni directed Nathan and her team to engage in a retaliation plan.

Lively's legal complaints include communications between Baldoni and members of his publicity team that the filings say were obtained through a legal process, including a civil subpoena. The messages appear to show Baldoni talking to his public relations representatives about protecting him and creating a negative narrative about Lively in the press.

Baldoni's suit against the Times alleges that some of the messages presented in Lively's complaint and reported in the article were doctored or taken out of context. Complete communications show that the plaintiffs had no intention of "burying" Lively, Baldoni's suit says, adding that he wanted to avoid harming her and protect the film, "but also recognized a legitimate need for public relations protection in light of Lively's false and damaging claims."

Attorneys for Lively said her decision to speak out "resulted in further retaliation and attacks."

--Alexandra Bruell contributed to this article.

Write to Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com and Sarah Krouse at sarah.krouse@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 31, 2024 23:01 ET (04:01 GMT)

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