Actress Blake Lively on Tuesday sued “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni and several other people connected to the romantic drama, alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her reputation over her treatment on set had expressed.

The federal lawsuit was filed in New York just hours after Baldoni and many of the other defendants in Lively’s lawsuit sued The New York Times for defamation over its portrayal of her allegations, saying the newspaper and the Star engaged in a coordinated defamation campaign.

The lawsuits are important developments in the story of the surprise hit film, which has already caused a stir in Hollywood and sparked discussions about the treatment of female actresses both on set and in the media.

Lively’s lawsuit said Baldoni, the film’s production company, Wayfarer Studios, and others “executed a carefully crafted, coordinated and resourced plan of retaliation to deter her and others from speaking out.”

She accuses Baldoni and the studio of embarking on a “multi-pronged plan” to damage her reputation after she and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, alleged “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” from Baldoni and her during a meeting A producer, Jamey, had approached Heath, who is also named in both lawsuits.

The plan, the lawsuit said, included a proposal to spread theories in online forums, develop a social media campaign and post messages critical of Lively.

The alleged on-set abuse included comments from Baldoni about the bodies of Lively and other women on set. And the lawsuit says Baldoni and Heath “discussed her personal sexual experiences and past porn addiction and attempted to pressure Ms. Lively to reveal details about her intimate life.”

Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Lively’s lawsuit. However, he previously called the same allegations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally suggestive.”

Lively’s lawsuit comes on the same day as the libel lawsuit that Baldoni and others filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against the Times, seeking at least $250 million. The Times stood by its reporting and said it plans to “vigorously” defend itself against the lawsuit.

Other defendants in Lively’s lawsuit and plaintiffs in the defamation suit include Wayfarer and crisis communications expert Melissa Nathan, whose text message was quoted in the headline of the Dec. 21 Times story: “‘We Can Bury Anyone’: In a Hollywood Libel.” “Machine.”

The story, written by Megan Twohey, Mike McIntire and Julie Tate, was published shortly after Lively filed a lawsuit with the California Department of Civil Rights, a precursor to her new lawsuit.

The libel lawsuit says the newspaper “relied almost exclusively on Lively’s unverified and self-serving narrative, expounding it almost verbatim and ignoring a wealth of evidence that contradicted her claims and revealed her true motives.” But the Times didn’t care.”

A Times spokeswoman, Danielle Rhoades, said in a statement that “our story was reported carefully and responsibly.”

“It was based on a review of thousands of pages of original documents, including the text messages and emails that we quote accurately and extensively in the article. To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed out a single error,” the statement said.

But Baldoni’s lawsuit says, “If the Times had actually reviewed the thousands of private communications it allegedly received, its reporters would have seen irrefutable evidence that Lively, not the plaintiffs, was conducting a calculated smear campaign.”

Lively is not a defendant in the defamation lawsuit. Her attorneys said in a statement: “This lawsuit does not change the claims Ms. Lively raised in the California Department of Civil Rights complaint, nor her federal complaint filed earlier today.”

Romantic drama “It Ends With Us,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling 2016 novel, hit theaters in August and exceeded box office expectations with a $50 million debut. But the film’s release was overshadowed by speculation about discord between Lively and Baldoni. Baldoni took a back seat in promoting the film, while Lively took center stage along with Reynolds, who was in press for Deadpool & Wolverine at the same time.

Lively rose to fame in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and solidified her fame in the TV series Gossip Girl from 2007 to 2012. Since then, she has appeared in films such as The Town and The Shallows. “

Baldoni starred in the TV comedy “Jane the Virgin,” directed the 2019 film “Five Feet Apart” and wrote “Man Enough,” a book that pushes back against traditional notions of masculinity. He responded to concerns that “It Ends With Us” romanticized domestic violence, telling the AP at the time that critics were “absolutely entitled to that opinion.”

He was fired from his agency, WME, immediately after Lively filed her complaint and the Times published its story. The agency represents both Lively and Reynolds.

Baldoni’s attorney, Freedman, said in a statement accompanying the libel suit that “The New York Times has pandered to the wishes and whims of two powerful, ‘untouchable’ Hollywood elites.”

“In doing so, they predetermined the outcome of their story and aided and abetted their own disastrous public relations smear campaign aimed at revitalizing Lively’s self-inflicted, faltering public image and counteracting the organic groundswell of criticism in the online public sphere,” he added added. “The irony is rich.”