Blake Lively’s PR Rep Moves to Dismiss Justin Baldoni Lawsuit – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterAllegedly false statements from Leslie Sloane of Vision PR include assertions that the “whole cast doesn’t like Justin” and that “Blake was sexually assaulted.” She says they aren’t defamatory.
By
Winston Cho
Blake Lively‘s public relations representative is arguing that she should be dismissed from the legal standoff between the actress and Justin Baldoni because she never defamed the It Ends With Us director.
Leslie Sloane of Vision PR, in a motion filed in New York federal court on Thursday, says that the allegedly false statements cited in Baldoni’s lawsuit are opinions that can’t be subject to a defamation claim. She also argues that the assertions are largely true, pointing to the absence of an explicit denial from Baldoni that he sexually assaulted Lively.
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By Sloane’s thinking, Baldoni isn’t denying the majority of misconduct for which he’s accused but is instead trying to contextualize the behavior. She claims she was “dragged” into the criss-crossing lawsuits “as a smoke and mirrors exercise to distract from their own sexual harassment and systemic retaliation.”
Baldoni has consistently challenged all of the allegations detailed in Lively’s lawsuit, including accusations of sexual assault. He accuses Sloane of orchestrating a smear campaign to portray him as a sexual predator by planting false stories, mainly at the Daily Mail.
Among the many reasons the high-profile dispute has fixated Hollywood is the ensnaring of public relations firms that typically stay behind the scenes.
The alleged defamation concerns statements from Sloane that the “whole cast doesn’t like Justin,” “the whole cast hates him” and “Blake was sexually assaulted.” Some were made in response to a press inquiry about a story she says Baldoni’s team planted days earlier over Lively causing problems on the set of the movie.
Sloane argues that the first two assertions are “hyperbolic personal sentiments” incapable of being proven true or false, meaning that they can’t be subject to a defamation claim.
“The statement ‘Blake was sexually assaulted,’ likewise amounts to inactionable opinion given the context in which it was made,” writes Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for the PR rep, in the filing, which stresses that the accusation is the Daily Mail reporter’s characterization of details included in Lively’s administrative complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Department that sparked the feud and “not any words Ms. Sloane ever said.”
Regardless of whether the statements can be understood as opinions, Sloane also argues that the statements are substantially true. She cites details in Baldoni’s lawsuit that the cast “shun[ned] the director to side with Lively, going as far as “refusing to attend [the premiere] if” the director was present.
“Nor do the Wayfarer Parties meaningfully deny the truth of the underlying facts for the alleged statement that ‘Blake was sexually assaulted,’” the filing states. “For instance, Ms. Lively alleges that Baldoni engaged in sexual contact without her consent, including by ‘bit[ing] and suck[ing]’ on her ‘lower lip during a scene in which he improvised numerous kisses on each take.’ The Wayfarer Parties do not expressly deny this conduct, and merely argue that Baldoni did not need Ms. Lively’s ‘permission’ to ‘improvis[e]’ because he was purportedly ‘in character’ and this behavior was apparently acceptable on the show ‘Jane the Virgin.’”
Part of the court’s analysis could involve an examination of the legal meaning of sexual assault. Baldoni’s unwanted sexual conduct likely falls within New York’s definition of the term, claims Sloane’s legal team, which cites a court case in which a person who caressed a co-worker’s foot and hugged her from behind were sufficient to allege “forcible touching.”
Other arguments Sloane, who seeks legal fees from Baldoni under a New York law that allows for the early dismissal of lawsuits intended to chill free speech, advances revolve around the director failing to allege actual malice, a necessary component to a public figure such as the director advancing a defamation claim. It requires proof that the accused made defamatory statements with knowledge they were false or were recklessly indifferent to their truth.
Sloane’s move to dismiss herself from Baldoni’s lawsuit comes after Lively filed a revised lawsuit in which she says that two other actresses on the set of the film are prepared to testify over their own allegedly uncomfortable experiences with Baldoni. Sources have indicated the two women are Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer. Slate is a veteran comic and actress known for roles in Parks and Recreation and Everything Everywhere All at Once. Ferrer is a newcomer to the industry and was only around 23 at the time of filming, when she played the younger version of Lively’s character.Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySign up for THR news straight to your inbox every daySubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
