Justin Baldoni is distracting himself from multimillion-dollar lawsuits between himself and Blake Lively with a trip to Hawaii.
The 40-year-old actor and director, who was sued by Lively for allegedly sexually harassing her and creating a hostile work environment on the set of their romantic drama It Ends With Us, was pictured on Saturday as he enjoyed a trip to a beach in Maui, Hawaii, with his family.
He was pictured flashing his ripped abs and chiseled physique while jumping in the surf with his wife Emily and their two children: daughter Maiya, nine, and son Maxwell, seven.
Prior to landing in Hawaii, Baldoni broke his silence after launching his own $400 million lawsuit against Lively when he was spotted with his family flying out of Los Angeles’ LAX airport early on Friday morning.
He has alleged in his lawsuit against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and her publicist Leslie Soane, that the trio attempted to defame him in the aftermath of the release of their hit film.
But Baldoni was focused on enjoying his vacation with his family during the Hawaiian trip and he soaked up the sun and perfect weather.
Justin Baldoni, 40, was seen enjoying a trip to the beach in Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday after launching a $400 million lawsuit against his It Ends With Us costar Blake Lively
The actor and director showed off his ripped physique after claiming Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds attempted to defame and extort him in the aftermath of the film
She previously sued him and his production company for alleged sexual harassment
He wore a pair of gray–blue swim trunks and sported some designer stubble and shaggy dark hair.
Before running into the water he had on a dark baseball cap, and he was spotted carrying a large gray insulated tumblr and some beach towels and sunscreen for his family.
He also appeared to have brought along a bodyboard for some more fun in the ocean.
On Thursday, Baldoni escalated his legal war of words with Lively and Reynolds when he filed a $400 million against the two and her publicist, accusing them conspiring to trash his reputation with sexual harassment allegations that Lively previously made.
In court papers obtained by DailyMail.com, Baldoni accused Lively of hijacking the filming of their romantic drama It Ends With Us — which he directed.
He also accused her and her Deadpool star husband of ruining his experience of the film’s premiere by forcing him and his family to wait in a basement holding area surrounded by overstocked concession stand offerings and security guards to ensure that she wouldn’t see him in the theater.
In response to Baldoni’s new lawsuit, Lively’s attorneys issued a fiery statement to DailyMail.com, declaring: ‘This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios, and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook.’
They added: ‘This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.’
He wore a pair of gray–blue swim trunks and sported some designer stubble and shaggy dark hair
Before running into the water he had on a dark baseball cap
He was spotted carrying a large gray insulated tumblr and some beach towels and sunscreen for his family
He also appeared to have brought along a bodyboard for some more fun in the ocean
The statement claimed Baldoni’s production company Wayfarer Studios ‘opted to use the resources of its billionaire co-founder to issue media statements, launch meritless lawsuits, and threaten litigation to overwhelm the public’s ability to understand that what they are doing is retaliation against sexual harassment allegations.’
Lively’s attorneys added: ‘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.
‘The evidence will also show that Sony asked Ms. Lively to oversee Sony’s cut of the film, which they then selected for distribution and was a resounding success.’
They continued: ‘Their response to sexual harassment allegations: she wanted it, it’s her fault. Their justification for why this happened to her: look what she was wearing.’
The statement concluded: ‘In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.’
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman explained the Jane The Virgin star’s decision to sue in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media,’ he said.
‘It is clear based on our own all out willingness to provide all complete text messages, emails, video footage and other documentary evidence that was shared between the parties in real time, that this is a battle she will not win and will certainly regret,’ the statement continued. ‘Blake Lively was either severely misled by her team or intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the truth.
‘Ms. Lively will never again be allowed to continue to exploit actual victims of real harassment solely for her personal reputation gain at the expense of those without power,’ Freedman said. ‘Let’s not forget, Ms. Lively and her team attempted to bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons through their own dangerous manipulation of the media before even taking any actual legal action. We know the truth, and now the public does too. Justin and his team have nothing to hide, documents do not lie.’
