The It Ends With Us authorized battle continues — however this time it’s between star Blake Full of life and a Texas disaster communications specialist and his firm, Avenue Relations.
Jed Wallace and Avenue Relations are suing the actor for defamation after Full of life allegedly pulled them into her authorized combat with co-star and director Justin Baldoni over the movie.
Wallace filed a $7-million lawsuit in federal courtroom in Texas on Tuesday, stating that he had nothing to do with any marketing campaign to hurt Full of life’s popularity as she alleged in a courtroom submitting from December 2024. He’s additionally in search of a courtroom order stating that he didn’t have interaction in harassment or retaliation in opposition to Full of life.
This got here after the Gossip Woman actor filed a petition on Jan. 21 in search of a deposition from Wallace, who Full of life alleges was utilized by publicists working with Baldoni to weaponize “a digital military across the nation, together with in New York and Los Angeles, to create, seed, manipulate, and advance disparaging content material that seemed to be genuine on social media platforms and web chat boards.” In accordance with The Hollywood Reporter, Full of life’s petition in search of a courtroom order to depose Wallace was dropped on Tuesday.
Wallace is just not among the many defendants in Full of life’s federal lawsuit in opposition to Baldoni, his manufacturing firm and publicists, by which she alleges sexual and different harassment throughout the manufacturing and a marketing campaign to smear her after it. The disaster specialist is called within the courtroom papers and the New York Instances story revealed on the day the sequence of authorized battles started in December, when Full of life filed a grievance.
Wallace’s 10-page lawsuit says neither he nor Avenue Relations “had something to do with the alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to research or aiding and abetting the alleged harassment or alleged retaliation,” in line with courtroom paperwork. (World Information has not independently seen the paperwork.)
“The statements of reality, precise or implied, of and regarding Plaintiffs within the Precursor and CRD Criticism are false, defamatory, made with both negligence or ‘precise malice’ and have induced tens of millions of {dollars} in reputational hurt together with each common and particular damages by way of emotional hurt (Wallace), precise damages and actual and projected lack of enterprise (Wallace and Avenue) in an quantity that exceeds $1,000,000,” Wallace’s submitting learn.
“As Full of life later admitted she knew of no info to assist the allegations,” Charles Babcock, a lawyer for Wallace, wrote within the grievance. “Neither Wallace nor Avenue had something to do with the alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to research or aiding and abetting the alleged harassment or alleged retaliation. Neither might they’ve breached a contract with Full of life as a result of no such contract exists.”
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In response to the lawsuit, Full of life’s authorized staff mentioned, “One other day, one other state, one other nine-figure lawsuit in search of to sue Ms. Full of life ‘into oblivion’ for talking out in opposition to sexual harassment and retaliation.”
“This isn’t only a publicity stunt — it’s clear retaliation in response to allegations contained inside a sexual harassment and retaliation grievance that Ms. Full of life filed with the California Civil Rights Division,” her legal professionals added of their assertion to media. “Whereas this lawsuit shall be dismissed, we’re happy that Mr. Wallace has lastly emerged from the shadows, and that he too shall be held accountable in federal courtroom.”
Wallace’s lawyer Babcock launched a press release in response to Full of life’s authorized staff. He referred to Wallace as “a really non-public individual, who has by no means met or spoken to Ms. Full of life. Ever.”
“He has not engaged in a smear marketing campaign in opposition to her at any cut-off date. The choice to file this lawsuit to rightfully defend himself and his household was made after Ms. Full of life not solely filed in opposition to him first in Texas however, indicated she meant to call him in yet one more lawsuit,” Babcock mentioned.
The continued authorized battle between the It Ends With Us co-stars started after Full of life sued Baldoni and he filed his personal federal lawsuit in opposition to her and her husband, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion and in search of no less than $400 million in damages.
Baldoni had already sued the New York Instances for libel, and his former publicist filed a lawsuit taking Full of life’s aspect.
Full of life and Baldoni’s case headed to courtroom on Feb. 3 as Full of life’s authorized staff started to debate a possible gag order.
On Feb. 3, a U.S. decide admonished legal professionals for Baldoni and Full of life to not publicly talk about the actors’ competing civil lawsuits. Full of life’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb complained to U.S. District Decide Lewis Liman at a listening to in Manhattan federal courtroom that Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman violated skilled ethics guidelines for legal professionals by accusing Full of life of “bullying.”
“It’s very onerous to un-ring the bell,” Gottlieb mentioned, arguing that such statements might taint the jury pool for the scheduled March 9, 2026 trial.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman recommended that his feedback to Folks and in a podcast look have been a response to the Dec. 21 New York Instances article that “fully devastated” Baldoni.
“This has not been a one-way avenue,” he mentioned.
Liman adopted a New York state rule barring most out-of-court statements that would have an effect on a case’s end result, with an exception for shielding a shopper from prejudicial antagonistic publicity.
The decide might sanction legal professionals for violations. Neither Gottlieb nor Freedman objected. Baldoni and Full of life weren’t in attendance on the listening to.
Full of life’s legal professionals Gottlieb and Esra Hudson mentioned in a press release, “We’re happy with the results of in the present day’s listening to and keen to maneuver ahead instantly with discovery on this case.”
“The courtroom granted our request that every one attorneys within the matter truly observe the rule of regulation and never make any statements that would prejudice a jury,” they continued. “This case offers with severe allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We’ll maintain the defendants accountable, and we’re assured that when all of the proof is submitted on this matter, Ms. Full of life will prevail.”
Freedman mentioned, “I couldn’t be extra happy with how the case was dealt with in the present day. We’re going to maneuver as rapidly as potential and show our innocence.”
It Ends With Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel that begins as a romance however takes a darkish flip into home violence, was launched in August 2024, exceeding field workplace expectations with a home whole of almost $150 million. The success was adopted by near-constant turmoil over its manufacturing and promotion.
—With recordsdata from The Related Press
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