Justin Baldoni claims that Ryan Reynolds ‘stalked’ him in the meeting with Blake Lively

Justin Baldoni claims that Ryan Reynolds aggressively berated him in a meeting during the making of It ends with us.

The director-actor filed a $250 million lawsuit against New York Times on 31 Dec over an article published on December 21 that reported on costar Blake Lively’s sexual harassment complaint and a retaliation campaign.

Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman argued Times “bowed to the wishes and whims of two powerful ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites,” meaning Lively and Reynolds, the former costars who married in 2012. According to Freedman, the bombshell report used “doctored and doctored texts” and that his side has ” all communications to back up” their version of events.

A spokesman for Times responded, saying, “Our story was carefully 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.” The business plans to “vigorously” defend itself against Baldoni’s lawsuit.

In his complaint, Baldoni’s legal team alleged that he and some of the It ends with us Producers were called to a meeting at Lively and Reynolds’ New York City apartment in January 2024, the day before filming was to resume after the industry’s guild strike ended.

There, Reynolds “launched into a tirade and berated Baldoni in what Baldoni later described as a ‘traumatic’ encounter, saying he had ‘never been spoken to like that in his life,'” the complaint alleges.

Baldoni, 40, claims Reynolds, 48, “demanded” an apology from Lively, 37, accusing him of “fat-shaming” her, and when Baldoni “refused to apologize for what he hadn’t done, Reynolds further enraged.”

His lawyers characterize the alleged exchange as an “inappropriate and humiliating rant by Baldoni — delivered, perhaps intentionally, as other celebrity friends came in and out of their penthouse.”

Reps for Reynolds and Lively did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

According to Baldoni, the fat-shaming element was a misunderstanding: He says he asked a trainer “how much Lively weighed” since he has “back problems” and was worried about injuring himself for a scene in which his character lifts hers. The trainer “passed this information on to Lively, who then informed Reynolds,” leading to a “confrontation,” Baldoni’s lawyers allege.

“Lively threatened to stop production entirely despite her contractual obligations. Lively gave Baldoni an ultimatum: either cast someone else or work with her the way she works. It was her way or the highway,” Baldonis claims lawyers in the complaint.

In her complaint, Lively’s lawyers claimed that Baldoni “routinely demeaned Ms. Lively by finding back-and-forth ways to criticize her body and weight.”

Four months after giving birth to her fourth child, Lively was “humiliated to learn” that Baldoni “secretly called her fitness trainer, without her knowledge or permission, suggesting he wanted her to lose weight in two weeks, ” her lawyers wrote. “Mr. Baldoni told the coach that he had asked because he was worried about picking up Ms. Lively in a scene for the movie, but there was no such scene.”

Lively’s complaint also includes the all-hands meeting that took place in January 2024, saying it was “convened to address the hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production” and that she chose to have Reynolds there as her “agreed” the right to have a representative present.” The complaint says at the meeting they “discussed at length the details of the concerns that had been expressed by Ms. Lively and others.”

Elsewhere in her filing, Lively’s lawyers expressed that she faced “extreme” emotional distress and that “Reynolds has also been affected mentally, physically and professionally by the pain of his wife and children” due to the situation.

On the same day, Baldoni filed his case against TimesLively escalated her own lawsuit by officially filing a federal complaint against Baldoni’s company Wayfarer Studios and others in the Southern District of New York.

Lively’s attorneys said in a statement: “As alleged in Ms. Lively’s federal complaint, Wayfarer and its employees violated federal and California law by retaliating against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns. Now the defendants will answer for their conduct in federal court.”

In an earlier statement, Lively said she hopes her legal action “helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to hurt people who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted.”

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Several of Lively’s former co-stars and collaborators have spoken out in support of her coming forward, as well as her It ends with us costs. Brandon Sklenar urged fans to read Lively’s complaint in full, and Jenny Slate said: “What has been revealed about the attack on Blake is terribly dark, disturbing and utterly menacing. I commend my friend, I admire her bravery, and I stand by her side.”

In the wake of Lively’s complaint, Baldoni was cut by his agency William Morris Endeavor, commonly known as WME. Baldoni’s complaint alleged that Reynolds approached his agent at Deadpool and Wolverine premiered in July and “demanded that the agent ‘drop’ Baldoni.”

The agency issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter Jan. 1 denied that Reynolds pressured them to drop Baldoni. “This is not true … nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively at any time to drop Baldoni as a client.”