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Conservative political commentator Candace Owens recently shared her take on Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively, filed on January 16, 2024. The two Hollywood stars have been going back and forth, hurling various accusations against each other regarding their movie It Ends With Us, which was released in August 2024.
Lively accused Baldoni of s*xual harassment and starting a smear campaign against her in a complaint filed in December 2024. However, Baldoni, in his new lawsuit, has accused Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of "civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy."
Following the news of Baldoni's lawsuit, Candace Owens took to X to voice her opinion about this new turn of events. The political commentator, who had sided with Baldoni since the controversy began, said she was sick of the #MeToo movement, praising the actor and director for standing up for himself.
"Good for him. The doctoring of the emails that Blake’s team presented to New York Times was enough for me to see what her end game was. I am sooooo sick of #metoo," she wrote.
For the unversed, the #MeToo movement aimed to increase awareness about s*xual harassment and abuse endured by women in the workplace. The movement gained steam in 2017 after many women in Hollywood came forward about facing s*xual harassment in the film industry. The movement led to the arrest of producer Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of s*xual misconduct and r*pe.
Other times Candace Owens supported Justin Baldoni against Blake Lively
Candace Owens has been on Team Justin since the controversy surrounding the It Ends With Us stars began in December. During the January 8 episode of The Candace Show, she claimed Blake Lively was "not a kind person" during the actress's legal battle with her co-star.
She also dubbed Blake Lively "a bit of a brat," alleging the actress was the “most difficult" and “rudest" person she ever “worked with."
“Do not let (the lawsuit) distract you from the fact that she is not a kind person. She’s a modern feminist," Owens said on her show.
In a recent YouTube video on January 16, she also compared Amber Heard to Blake Lively after Heard publicly supported the latter during the controversy. Owens referenced Heard's public trial with her ex-husband Johnny Depp, claiming Heard lost the trial because she was not a good actress.
Owens speculated Blake Lively would meet the same fate if she and Baldoni went to court with their allegations.
"I am telling you this because this is exactly what will happen, mark my words, to [Lively] if she is put on the stand. Take us to the bank. Because, similarly, while she is undoubtedly very beautiful, she always has been very beautiful, but she does not have the acting chops to pull this off."
Exploring Justin Baldoni's lawsuit against Blake Lively
On January 16, 2024, Justin Baldoni filed a lawsuit against Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds for $400 million, accusing the couple of attempting to destroy him and hijacking his movie. The lawsuit, filed in New York, also accused the couple of "civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy."
The lawsuit alleged that the couple tried to strongarm him with their "enormous power."
“At bottom, this is not a case about celebrities sniping at each other in the press. This is a case about two of the most powerful stars in the world deploying their enormous power to steal an entire film right out of the hands of its director and production studio… When Plaintiffs have their day in court, the jury will recognize that even the most powerful celebrity cannot bend the truth to her will.”
According to Variety, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni's lawyer, said in a statement that his team had an "overwhelming amount of untampered evidence" that Lively and her team were attempting to "destroy" Baldoni.
This point was previously detailed when Baldoni sued The New York Times, which first broke the story about Blake Lively's accusations in December. In his suit, Baldoni alleged the publication "cherry-picked" the text messages published in the story, adding that his team had all the evidence and was willing to share it.
The text messages in question referred to the alleged messages shared between Baldoni, his publicist, and his PR crisis manager, with one message alleging to "bury" Lively during the film's press run.
Freedman also accused Blake Lively of attempting to "bulldoze reputations and livelihoods for heinously selfish reasons," adding his client had nothing to hide. In response, Lively's team alleged that Baldoni's team was attempting the "age-old story" of blaming the woman for speaking out against s*xual harassment.
Her legal team claimed Baldoni was trying to "turn the tables" on Blake Lively by using DARVO (Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender.)
“Their response to s*xual 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,” Lively's team added.
The controversy surrounding Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively is still ongoing at the time of this article.
