Justin Baldoni is requesting the preservation of “evidence” as he gears up to sue his former co-star, Blake Lively.
Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment after the two starred together in the Colleen Hoover-adapted film, “It Ends With Us.” Since the premiere of the movie in August, Lively has also accused Baldoni of participating in a deliberate smear campaign to ruin her reputation.
Now, Baldoni’s legal team has requested the Walt Disney Company and Marvel Studios preserve “all relevant documents and data” as the actor prepares to sue Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds.
“Marvel should take all appropriate action to avoid destruction of potentially relevant evidence,” reads a litigation holding letter sent to Disney’s Bob Iger and Marvel’s Kevin Feige and viewed by Fox News Digital.
A litigation holding letter typically precedes a lawsuit.
The holding letter requested Marvel preserve documents relating to the creation of the “Deadpool” franchise. Baldoni’s lawyer insinuated Reynolds mocked the actor with the character Nicepool in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, requested any documents showing a “deliberate attempt to mock, harass, ridicule, intimidate, or bully Baldoni through the character of ‘Nicepool,’” along with “any and all documents relating or reflecting any deliberate attempt to link the character of ‘Nicepool’ to Justin Baldoni.”
“There’s no question [the character] relates to Justin,” Freedman previously claimed during a Jan. 7 appearance on Megyn Kelly’s show. “I mean, anybody that watched – that hair bun, the comment about the pregnancy … It’s pretty obvious what’s being done.
“But again, if somebody is seriously sexually harassed, you don’t make fun of it. It’s a serious issue,” the lawyer added.
Representatives for Lively and Reynolds did not respond to Fox News Digital’s immediate request for comment.
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Lively detailed allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more made by Baldoni and film producer Jamey Heath in a complaint first filed with the California Civil Rights department and later in federal court.
According to the complaint, obtained by Fox News Digital, the actress convened an “all hands” meeting on Jan. 4, 2024, regarding the alleged behavior of Baldoni and Heath, a meeting which her husband, Reynolds, attended.
“Ms. Lively was forced to address concerns about Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath’s misconduct with them directly, and began doing so months before filming began,” the complaint reads. “The concerns she raised were not only for herself, but for the other female cast and crew, some of whom had also spoken up.”
Freedman previously told The Times, “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
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Baldoni has since sued The New York Times for defamation. The actor’s lawyer has hinted at the possibility of a separate lawsuit against Lively as well.
However, Lively’s team noted her allegations are “backed by concrete facts.”
“This is not a ‘feud’ arising from ‘creative differences’ or a ‘he said/she said’ situation,” her lawyers told Fox News Digital. “As alleged in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and as we will prove in litigation, Wayfarer [Studios] and its associates engaged in unlawful, retaliatory astroturfing against Ms. Lively for simply trying to protect herself and others on a film set. And their response to the lawsuit has been to launch more attacks against Ms. Lively since her filing.”
