WME Denies Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' Involvement in Dropping Justin Baldoni as Client

WME has denied claims that Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds pressured the agency to drop Justin Baldoni as a client. This comes after Baldoni filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times, in which he alleges that the couple sought to have his agency sever ties with him. In the lawsuit, filed on December 31 in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by PEOPLE, Baldoni, 40, asserts that Reynolds, 48, demanded his WME agent drop him during the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere.

The exertion of power and influence became undeniable, the filing states. Baldoni and Wayfarer grew increasingly fearful of what Lively and Reynolds might be capable of, as their actions appeared to target the destruction of Baldoni’s career and personal life.

Justin Baldoni has filed a $250 million lawsuit against The New York Times over an article involving Blake Lively. However, in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, WME denied Baldoni's claims of being pressured to drop him as a client.

In Baldoni’s filing, he alleges that Reynolds pressured his agent at the Deadpool & Wolverine premiere. This is not true, the agency stated on Wednesday, January 1, according to THR. Baldoni’s former representative was not at the premiere, nor was there any pressure from Reynolds or Lively to drop him as a client.

WME representatives have not responded to PEOPLE's request for comment.

As of December 21, WME parted ways with Baldoni, as reported by multiple outlets, including Deadline, which first broke the news.

The decision to sever ties with the Jane the Virgin alum was reportedly influenced by a complaint filed by his It Ends with Us costar, Lively, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment, among other allegations. Lively, 37, remains a client of WME.

Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, has called the allegations false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with the intent to publicly harm.

At the time, WME declined to comment when contacted by PEOPLE, and a representative for Baldoni did not immediately respond to the inquiry.

On December 31, Baldoni, along with other plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against The New York Times, accusing the publication of using cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately edited to mislead.

In this orchestrated smear campaign led by Blake Lively and her team, The New York Times bowed to the demands of two powerful Hollywood elites, ignoring journalistic integrity by using doctored and manipulated texts, while intentionally omitting texts that contradict their chosen PR narrative, said Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's attorney, in a statement to PEOPLE.

Representatives for Lively did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

On the same day, December 31, Lively’s attorneys filed a federal complaint in the Southern District of New York against Wayfarer Studios, Baldoni, and other parties.

Ms. Lively previously submitted a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department in response to the retaliatory campaign launched by Wayfarer against her for reporting sexual harassment and workplace safety concerns, Lively’s attorney stated. Sadly, Ms. Lively’s decision to speak out has led to further retaliation and attacks.

Lively had initially filed a high-profile complaint on December 20, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation against Baldoni, his production company, and others, which served as a precursor to a discrimination lawsuit in California.

The complaint, which includes texts obtained through subpoena and was summarized in a report released on December 21 by The New York Times, claims that behind the scenes, Lively suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety as a result of Baldoni’s alleged behavior. This includes showing her explicit images and videos, probing her personal sex life, and attempting to add intimate scenes to the film that she had not initially agreed to.

Lively's complaint also accuses Baldoni of criticizing her age and weight and claims that he and producer Jamey Heath deliberately withheld information from Lively about her exposure to COVID during an on-set outbreak, which resulted in Lively and her then-infant contracting the virus.