Justin Baldoni Shares Pics From the Basement of ‘It Ends With Us’ Premiere

Justin Baldonimade several claims about the It Ends With Us premiere and afterparties in his $400 million lawsuit against costar Blake Lively.

Baldoni, 40, filed his lawsuit against Lively, 37, her husband, Ryan Reynolds, and their team of publicists on Thursday, January 16, seeking $400 million in damages. In the court filing obtained by Us, Baldoni included a photo from the It Ends With Us premiere where he and his family (including wife Emily and his parents) posed in the basement of the theater surrounded by containers of popcorn and bottles of soda.

Baldoni claimed in the court documents that he and his camp were initially uninvited from the occasion at Lively's request, only receiving the green light to attend at the last minute. In the docs, Baldoni alleged that his team were "confined to a makeshift holding area surrounded by concession stand stock, with only fold-out tables and chairs arranged in a square" to minimize interactions with Lively and her guests.

"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," the suit reads.

Blake Lively Allegedly Tried to Ban Justin Baldoni From Movie Premiere

He also had a separate afterparty with his team, claiming that it was "dry" since the majority of domestic violence incidents involve alcohol. He also claimed that Lively's gathering, which his production company allegedly paid for, was not and offered a drink titled "Ryle Can Wait."

"Lively's disastrous marketing efforts and tone-deaf press interviews and appearances backfired and led to widespread criticism of Lively's promotional approach to the Film's highly sensitive focus on domestic violence," the docs read. "Past videos of Lively resurfaced online - videos that appeared to solidify public perception that Lively was an insensitive ‘mean girl' who cared more about peddling her products than acknowledging the domestic violence survivor community. Social media commenters quickly pointed out that her tie-in of her alcohol beverages was in particularly poor taste, given the World Health Organization estimates that 55 percent of domestic violence incidents are linked to alcohol. Unbelievably, Lively made this harmful and irresponsible message worse by naming a drink at her premiere afterparty ‘Ryle You Wait.'"

Lively, for her part, denied Baldoni's recent legal claims.

""This latest lawsuit from Justin Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its associates is another chapter in the abuser playbook. 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," Lively's lawyers told Us in a statement. "This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender. Wayfarer has 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 further alleged that Baldoni's team was "trying to shift the narrative" by falsely claiming she took over production and alienated him from the rest of the It Ends With Us cast.

"The evidence will show that the cast and others had their own negative experiences with Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer," Lively's statement continued. "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. 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. 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 team has not responded to Lively's response. Us has reached out for comment.

Earlier this month, leaked audio footage also discussed Baldoni's reported separate afterparty.

Justin Baldoni Claims Blake Lively 'Kicked' Him Out of 'It Ends With Us'

While appearing on the January 7 episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, his lawyer Bryan Freedman played part of an alleged voice message Baldoni sent to his team recalling the events that transpired at the New York City premiere in August 2024.

"On what could have been one of the most beautiful nights of my life career-wise, I literally was sent to the basement with all my friends and family for over an hour because I wasn't allowed to be seen. She didn't want me anywhere near her or the rest of the cast," Baldoni said in the alleged voice message.

He continued, "So they ushered me off the carpet and sent us down to the basement. We were down there together, my friends and family, the people that love me the most. We start laughing because of the ridiculousness of this whole thing and I realize, like, on a night that was supposed to be so materialistically joyful, I was in the basement with the people that I love the most and we were all joyful and laughing cause none of that s— matters, none of it."

Baldoni, who also directed the film, noted that they're not in the movie business "to attend a premiere like that and be celebrated."

"We're in this business because we're artists and we believe in what we do and because we want to create art that touches people's hearts and souls and can move people," he said. "And that's what we did, that's what you both did. I believe that will follow each of us and the truth will prevail and light and love will win."

Rumors began swirling of a rift on set when eagle-eyed fans noticed that Baldoni was absent for joint press interviews for the film and did not pose for group photos with cast members at the premiere.

Months after the speculation, The New York Times reported that Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment in a lawsuit, which was obtained by Us. (Freedman called Lively's accusations "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious" in a statement to Us.)

The alleged audio mirrored what Baldoni and other plaintiffs claimed in their December 2024 lawsuit, where they sued The New York Times for its coverage of Lively's accusations. (A spokesperson for The New York Times told Us that the outlet is planning to "vigorously defend against the lawsuit.")

"The Wayfarer team and their families, including Baldoni and [producer Jamey] Heath, were segregated from the main cast, barred from the exclusive after-party, and forced to organize their own event at additional cost," the filing reads. "Baldoni's participation on the red carpet was cut short, and his family and friends were confined to a makeshift holding area in the basement before being escorted into a separate theater after Lively's departure."

The lawsuit continues, "Not only had Lively stolen the Film, but she also robbed Baldoni and his team of any genuine opportunity to celebrate their hard work."

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This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 11:15 AM.