Justin Baldoni Claims in Lawsuit That Blake Lively Named “It Ends with Us” Afterparty Drink After Film's Abuser

Justin Baldoni claims in a complaint that his It Ends with Us costar Blake Lively did not take their film's subject matter seriously, so much so that she allegedly named a drink after the drama's domestic abuser during a premiere afterparty.

Baldoni, along with producer Jamey Heath, publicist Jennifer Abel and crisis publicist Melissa Nathan, filed a $400 million lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, Jan. 16 against Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist Leslie Sloane and Sloane's PR firm Vision PR, Inc., over the ongoing fallout from the film and its production.

In the 179-page suit, Baldoni and his co-plaintiffs highlight what they claim were "disastrous marketing efforts and tone-deaf press interviews and appearances" from Lively during the promotion of It Ends with Us in 2024. These efforts, they say, "backfired and led to widespread criticism of Lively’s promotional approach to the film’s highly sensitive focus on domestic violence."

As an example, the suit claims a drink was served at Lively's "premiere afterparty" named "Ryle You Wait." In It Ends with Us, Ryle Kincaid (portrayed onscreen by Baldoni) is Lively's character Lily Bloom's eventual husband. He ultimately commits domestic violence against Lily, leading to the dissolution of their relationship as they welcome a child together.

Related: Everything to Know About the It Ends With Us Controversy In Advance of the New Movie

Calling the name of the drink "harmful and irresponsible," Baldoni's lawyers also state in the suit that "social media commenters quickly pointed out that [Lively's] tie-in of her alcohol beverages was in particularly poor taste, given the World Health Organization estimates that 55% of domestic violence incidents are linked to alcohol."

Lively's Betty Booze alcohol brand and sparkling mixer company Betty Buzz appear to have been part of the "Ryle You Wait" drink, as seen in a since-deleted Instagram video that was screenrecorded and shared to Reddit. The origin and authenticity of the video is unclear. In it, a drink menu lists that the "Ryle You Wait" cocktail was crafted with bourbon, Lively's Betty Buzz ginger beer, apple cider, cardamom bitters, cinnamon and an apple florette garnish.

Baldoni is suing Lively and her co-defendants on claims of civil extortion, defamation, false light invasion of privacy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, intentional interference with contractual relations, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, and negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

Reps for Lively, Reynolds and Sloane did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

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Lively has already sued Baldoni and his associates, making claims of sexual harassment and a retaliatory smear campaign orchestrated by Baldoni. In her initial Dec. 20 filing, Lively claimed Baldoni exhibited “disturbing" and “unprofessional” behavior on set that led to a "hostile work environment."

Lively's complaint includes accusations that Baldoni and producer Heath entered her trailer “uninvited” while she was undressed or “vulnerable,” alleges Baldoni “suddenly” pressured her to “simulate full nudity” in a birth scene and “improvised physical intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed or discussed with Ms. Lively, with no intimacy coordinator involved." Her complaint claims that in the aftermath of the experience and the alleged smear campaign against her, Lively “has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.”

In Lively's complaint, she directly addresses the marketing approach Baldoni calls out in his own lawsuit, and alleges that the strategy was one they both contractually agreed to, as "created and delivered by the film's distributor, Sony." In her suit, Lively claims that "the marketing plan directed the cast to '[f]ocus more on Lily’s strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence' and to '[a]void talking about this film that makes it feel sad or heavy [sic] — it’s a story of hope.' "

Related: Justin Baldoni Is Demanding Disney Hold Onto Documents to Support His Claims Ryan Reynolds Used Nicepool to 'Bully' Him

Baldoni has also sued The New York Times alleging libel in response to its Dec. 21, 2024 article "‘We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine." The suit alleges the newspaper used “‘cherry-picked’ and altered communications stripped of necessary context and deliberately spliced to mislead" in its article about Lively's complaint.

The It Ends with Us premiere on Aug. 6, 2024 also factored into Baldoni's libel suit against the Times. In it, he claimed Lively allegedly "initially refused to permit" him to attend the New York premiere and "only after significant pressure did she reluctantly agree to allow Baldoni and the Wayfarer team to attend, but under humiliating conditions." His lawyers claim Baldoni was "segregated" from the main cast and "barred" from the official afterparty.

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