Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds‘ publicist, Leslie Sloane, has requested to be removed from the $400 million lawsuit Justin Baldoni filed last month.
On Thursday, Sloane’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, filed a motion to dismiss in New York federal court, asking for Sloane and her firm, Vision PR, to be taken out of Baldoni and Wayfarer’s countersuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist.
According to court documents, obtained by DailyMail.com, Sloane’s attorney insisted Sloane was ‘dragged’ into the nasty legal battle as a ‘smoke and mirrors exercise to distract from their own sexual harassment and their own systematic retaliation.’
The filing also alleges that there is no ‘basis’ for accusing Sloane of launching a ‘smear campaign’ against Baldoni or planting ‘malicious stories’ about him.
Sloane’s attorneys also pointed out that Baldoni’s lawyers don’t ‘identify where or how the alleged extortion occurred’ or how she ‘received anything of value because of that extortion.’
McCawley also defended Lively, 37, against Baldoni’s claim that she took over creative control of their film, It Ends With Us.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ publicist has requested to be removed from the $400 million lawsuit Justin Baldoni filed last month; Reynolds and Lively seen over the weekend
Sloane’s lawyer stated: ‘Baldoni’s allegations about the creative issues are irrelevant and tellingly sexist.’
‘Because Ms. Lively — an executive producer on the film — dared to offer input on the script, wardrobe and editing, Baldoni blasts her as “tyrannical” and “aggressive,” among other coded terms,’ she continued.
McCawley added: ‘When Ms. Lively bravely spoke up about Baldoni’s predatory behavior, he and his team used every weapon in their arsenal to blame, embarrass and silence her, going so far as to hire a crisis PR manager who promised to ‘bury’ Ms. Lively and ‘destroy’ her life.’
In the lawsuit’s preliminary statement, McCawley wrote: ‘Baldoni has spent years profiting off the feminist and #MeToo movements, peddling books, podcasts, TED Talks, and more using slogans about believing survivors, ending victim blaming, and promoting informed consent.’
She, then, alleged that his ‘conduct in this dispute’ has been ‘sheer hypocrisy, beginning with his egregious sexual harassment of multiple employees, and continuing with his ongoing campaign to discredit and blame his victims and punish anyone who speaks out against him.’
‘The Wayfarer Parties’ allegations about Blake Lively boil down to: she was too ambitious, too outspoken, and she should have accepted Baldoni’s bizarre and abusive practices without complaint no matter how uncomfortable they made her and other women on set,’ Sloane’s lawyer added.
McCawley also states that Baldoni ‘trivializes this dispute about sexual harassment and retaliation by trying to recharacterize it as a mere battle for creative control of the movie.’
Meanwhile, she claims he doesn’t ‘deny the lion’s share of misconduct for which he is accused’ but has just been trying to ‘contextualize his behavior and suggest that Ms. Lively asked for it.’
On Thursday, Sloane’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, filed a motion to dismiss in New York federal court, asking for Sloane and her firm, Vision PR, to be taken out of Baldoni and Wayfarer’s countersuit; Baldoni seen in 2023
Sloane is also requesting her legal fees are covered.
This comes as the Gossip Girl actress filed an amended complaint late Tuesday night, claiming the two actresses on set also had uncomfortable experiences with her It Ends With Us director and co-star.
A source for DailyMail.com has disputed these claims as they said: ‘Blake is really clutching at straws. She was said to have these smoking guns, and she really has nothing. Her amended complaint is baseless.
‘Bottom line is this, Justin did not harass any other woman on set. There was not one single HR complaint made by any woman – Blake included. If he did, wouldn’t HR be the first place they would go?’
The insider went on to directly name two female castmembers from the drama film including Isabela Ferrer and Jenny Slate.
This comes as the Gossip Girl actress filed an amended complaint late Tuesday night, claiming the two actresses on set also had uncomfortable experiences with her It Ends With Us director and co-star
They said: ‘In fact, Isabella praised Justin. She wrote about how amazing he was to work with. And Jenny Slate wants nothing to do with any of this. She has made that clear to several people.
‘It seems unlikely that Blake has even one woman that is willing to come forward and go on-record to corroborate her claims. In the amended complaint, there are no text messages, emails, signals, WhatsApp’s, or anything about these alleged women. Justin has receipts. He has factual evidence in his defense and it doesn’t look like Blake has anything to back up her claims.’
Meanwhile, according to a spokesperson for Blake, the complaint does not name the alleged victim-witnesses or include their texts or screenshots in order to protect their privacy.
‘Importantly, however, these victim-witnesses have given Ms. Lively permission to share their communications in the Amended Complaint as they are laid out, and they will testify and produce documents in the discovery process,’ the spokesperson said.
The complaint is said to contain ‘significant contemporaneous evidence’ that Blake was not alone in raising allegations of on-set misconduct, along with ‘corroboration of her original claims.’
It also reportedly claims ‘evidence detailing the threats, harassment, and intimidation’ of not just Blake, but ‘numerous innocent bystanders.’
Blake previously filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Justin, who co-starred in and directed her hit romantic drama It Ends With Us.
Justin followed up by launching a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake, her publicist and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.
Blake previously filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in December against Justin, who co-starred in and directed her hit romantic drama It Ends With Us
He also filed a $250 million libel lawsuit against the New York Times for its reporting on Blake’s allegations.
But despite the high-stakes legal battle, it seems neither side plans to back down any time soon.
Last month, a judge scheduled a trial date for their lawsuits in March of 2026, and both parties have already decided to skip any attempt at mediation.
Meanwhile, Justin’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has claimed the allegations have cost his client ‘a substantial amount of work.’
Appearing on Monday’s episode of the Hot Mics With Billy Bush podcast, Bryan discussed the ongoing case and even revealed what the ideal outcome would be for his 41-year-old client.
Justin followed up by launching a $400 million defamation lawsuit against Blake, her publicist and her husband, Ryan Reynolds; Baldoni seen in LA back in December
When asked if he had initially been open to ‘mediating’ with Blake’s legal team, the lawyer explained: ‘The question was asked about whether he would be willing to go to mediation and whether we were open to that, and our answer to that was, ‘no.’
‘We are not willing to do anything until Justin is cleared of being called a predator, a sexual harasser. Until that is determined to have not happened, we will be doing this,’ Bryan stated.
Former Today host Billy, 53, probed further and asked: ‘What is most important to Justin? The $400 million or some kind of financial settlement to make up for…has he lost work? Have people backed away from him for a future project?’
Bryan replied: ‘A substantial amount of work,’ but didn’t elaborate on any specific projects.
When the host asked if Justin is looking for a ‘full-blown apology from Blake,’ the lawyer – who has represented the likes of Robert Downey Jr and Mariah Carey in the past – replied: ‘I think he wants a determination, I know he wants a determination…
‘That he did not engage in the behaviour that has been alleged, and that he did not engage in sexual harassment or create a smear campaign.’