Baldoni is pursuing claims of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith, and fair dealing.
Additionally, he is alleging prospective economic advantage, negligent interference with prospective economic advantage, intentional interference with contractual relations, and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage.
Last month, the Gossip Girl star initiated a federal lawsuit in New York against Baldoni, accusing him of sexual harassment and attempting to damage her reputation—allegations which Baldoni’s team has dismissed as ‘categorically false’.
In the midst of these legal battles, Baldoni claims Lively marginalized him at last year’s premiere of It Ends With Us, relegating him and his family to a basement-level room.
One photograph, purportedly taken on August 6, shows Baldoni, his wife Emily, and various family members seated around a table in a windowless room.
“They were confined to a makeshift holding area surrounded by concession stand stock, with only fold-out tables and chairs arranged in a square,” the lawsuit alleges.
“Surrounded by close friends, family, soda bottles, and a lot of love, the irony of being held in a basement on what was arguably one of the most important nights of Baldoni’s career thus far, was not lost on anyone.”
Lively has also been accused of excluding Baldoni from the celebrity after-party, which was allegedly funded by Sony and Baldoni’s own company, Wayfarer.
The lawsuit claims: “As a result, Baldoni had to quickly organize and fund a separate after-party for himself and the Wayfarer team. Forcing the company to cover the costs for two events—one for Lively and everyone else, and one for Baldoni and Wayfarer’s own friends, family, crew, and team.”
Lively’s legal team has rejected the counter-lawsuit, stating: “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 evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer.”