The It Ends With Us authorized battle continues — however this time it’s between star Blake Vigorous and a Texas disaster communications specialist and his firm, Road Relations.
Jed Wallace and Road Relations are suing the actor for defamation after Vigorous allegedly pulled them into her authorized battle 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 Vigorous’s repute as she alleged in a courtroom submitting from December 2024. He’s additionally looking for a courtroom order stating that he didn’t have interaction in harassment or retaliation towards Vigorous.
This got here after the Gossip Lady actor filed a petition on Jan. 21 looking for a deposition from Wallace, who Vigorous 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.” Based on The Hollywood Reporter, Vigorous’s petition looking for a courtroom order to depose Wallace was dropped on Tuesday.
Wallace is just not among the many defendants in Vigorous’s federal lawsuit towards Baldoni, his manufacturing firm and publicists, during 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 Occasions story printed on the day the sequence of authorized battles started in December, when Vigorous filed a grievance.
Wallace’s 10-page lawsuit says neither he nor Road 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. (International Information has not independently considered the paperwork.)
“The statements of truth, 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 precipitated hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in reputational hurt together with each common and particular damages via emotional hurt (Wallace), precise damages and actual and projected lack of enterprise (Wallace and Road) in an quantity that exceeds $1,000,000,” Wallace’s submitting learn.
“As Vigorous later admitted she knew of no information to assist the allegations,” Charles Babcock, a lawyer for Wallace, wrote within the grievance. “Neither Wallace nor Road had something to do with the alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, failure to research or aiding and abetting the alleged harassment or alleged retaliation. Neither may they’ve breached a contract with Vigorous as a result of no such contract exists.”
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In response to the lawsuit, Vigorous’s authorized workforce mentioned, “One other day, one other state, one other nine-figure lawsuit looking for to sue Ms. Vigorous ‘into oblivion’ for talking out towards 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. Vigorous filed with the California Civil Rights Division,” her legal professionals added of their assertion to media. “Whereas this lawsuit will probably be dismissed, we’re happy that Mr. Wallace has lastly emerged from the shadows, and that he too will probably be held accountable in federal courtroom.”
Wallace’s lawyer Babcock launched a press release in response to Vigorous’s authorized workforce. He referred to Wallace as “a really non-public particular person, who has by no means met or spoken to Ms. Vigorous. Ever.”
“He has not engaged in a smear marketing campaign towards her at any cut-off date. The choice to file this lawsuit to rightfully shield himself and his household was made after Ms. Vigorous not solely filed towards him first in Texas however, indicated she meant to call him in one more lawsuit,” Babcock mentioned.
The continuing authorized battle between the It Ends With Us co-stars started after Vigorous sued Baldoni and he filed his personal federal lawsuit towards her and her husband, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of defamation and extortion and looking for at the very least $400 million in damages.
Baldoni had already sued the New York Occasions for libel, and his former publicist filed a lawsuit taking Vigorous’s aspect.
Vigorous and Baldoni’s case headed to courtroom on Feb. 3 as Vigorous’s authorized workforce started to debate a possible gag order.
On Feb. 3, a U.S. choose admonished legal professionals for Baldoni and Vigorous to not publicly talk about the actors’ competing civil lawsuits. Vigorous’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 Vigorous of “bullying.”
“It’s very exhausting to un-ring the bell,” Gottlieb mentioned, arguing that such statements may taint the jury pool for the scheduled March 9, 2026 trial.
Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman urged that his feedback to Folks and in a podcast look have been a response to the Dec. 21 New York Occasions article that “utterly devastated” Baldoni.
“This has not been a one-way road,” he mentioned.
Liman adopted a New York state rule barring most out-of-court statements that might have an effect on a case’s final result, with an exception for safeguarding a consumer from prejudicial hostile publicity.
The choose may sanction legal professionals for violations. Neither Gottlieb nor Freedman objected. Baldoni and Vigorous weren’t in attendance on the listening to.
Vigorous’s legal professionals Gottlieb and Esra Hudson mentioned in a press release, “We’re happy with the results of at the moment’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 really comply with the rule of legislation and never make any statements that might prejudice a jury,” they continued. “This case offers with severe allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation. We are going to maintain the defendants accountable, and we’re assured that after all of the proof is submitted on this matter, Ms. Vigorous will prevail.”
Freedman mentioned, “I couldn’t be extra happy with how the case was dealt with at the moment. We’re going to maneuver as shortly as doable 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 practically $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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