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3 days ago
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The dispute between the actor Blake Lively and her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni looks set to intensify as a lawyer for him has hinted at a counterclaim against her that will “shock everyone”.
Bryan Freedman, known in Hollywood as “the dark knight”, told Deadline that he would not say when or how many lawsuits he is preparing for Baldoni, also the director of It Ends With Us, whom Lively has accused of sexual harassment and conducting a PR smear campaign against her.
“When we file our first lawsuit, it is going to shock everyone who has been manipulated into believing a demonstrably false narrative,” Freedman told Deadline over the weekend.
He added: “It will be supported by real evidence and tell the true story. In over 30 years of practicing, I have never seen this level of unethical behavior intentionally fueled through media manipulation.”
On 20 December, Lively filed an 80-page legal complaint against Baldoni, alleging his demonstration of inappropriate behavior on set, as well as a purported smear campaign against her – claims that Baldoni denies.
According to news outlets, Freedman has since been preparing to file a counter claim on Thursday when courts reopen after the festive holidays. The filing could claim that it was Lively’s PR team that set out to smear Baldoni, planting stories painting him in a bad light as part of a project to build her image after she received bad press for the troubled domestic abuse romcom.
In a statement after Lively filed her complaint with the California civil rights department, the 35-year-old actor said she hoped the “action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted”.
The former Gossip Girl star received an outpouring of support from colleagues in the industry. Baldoni has since been dropped by the talent agent WME, had a women’s solidarity award rescinded, lost a podcast co-hosting job and is being sued by his publicist.
But the arrival of Freedman in the Lively-Baldoni saga is likely to raise temperatures. Freedman is regarded as a legal street fighter whose past clients include the former Fox news host Megyn Kelly, winning her a reported $69m settlement; Bethenny Frankel, a reality TV personality; Tucker Carlson and others.
“If you fuck with my client, you get what you get!” he told the Hollywood Reporter recently.
The outlet said Freedman refers to himself as a “pit bull” and “is known for a rabidity and ruthlessness that can make even his fellow ferocious practitioners marvel in astonishment”.
Freedman represented Kevin Spacey when he was accused – and later cleared – of sexual assault, and FKA Twigs when she alleged the actor Shia LaBeouf abused her. He represented Dr Dre’s ex-wife in a spousal support claim; Jamie Lynn Spears in a dispute with sister Britney; and Diplo when the DJ was accused of distributing revenge porn.
Carlson, who hired the attorney during a contract dispute with former employer Fox News during the company’s litigation with Dominion Voting Systems, told the outlet: “Every time I read about Bryan, it’s like, ‘When are they letting him out of the cage?’ He’s chewing on his own paw.”
