Baldoni's lawyer responds to Blake Lively's accusations: "He was threatened by powerful people"

Justin Baldoni's lawyer has reacted to the accusations of sexual harassment that Blake Lively has raised against the actor, referring to the period when the pair played the main roles in the film "It Ends with Us."

In a statement released on December 23, attorney Bryan Freedman responded to Lively's allegations that Baldoni's publicists, TAG PR, had run a smear campaign against her, damaging her reputation and businesses.

He said that in fact the actor was threatened by two very powerful people.

"TAG PR acted like any other crisis management firm engaged by a client facing threats from two extremely powerful individuals with unlimited resources," Freedman said.

Freedman added that The Agency Group -- also known as TAG PR -- was doing the work when hired by Baldoni and said the public had control over its perception of Lively.

"The standard scripting that TAG PR had drawn up proved unnecessary, as the audience found Lively's actions, interviews and marketing during the promotional tour distasteful, and naturally reacted to what the media itself considered," he said in the statement.

People reported in August that Baldoni had hired PR manager Melissa Nathan (who previously represented Johnny Depp) to help promote his film, based on Colleen Hoover's bestseller.

Rumors of a conflict between Lively and Baldoni erupted when the film's cast began its official press tour. Baldoni conducted most of the interviews alone and did not pose for photos with the cast during the film's New York premiere. Fans also noticed that Lively, Hoover and Baldoni's co-star Jenny Slate don't follow Baldoni on Instagram.

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