- Blake Lively sued her “It Ends with Us” costar and director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment on December 20.
- Lively also alleged Baldoni made attempts to damage her reputation.
- Here’s everyone who’s spoken out in support of Lively, including former costars and directors.
Blake Lively sued her “It Ends with Us” costar and director Justin Baldoni on December 20 for sexual harassment and an attempt to damage her reputation.
The news comes months after the movie’s promotion leading up to its August release was overshadowed by rumors of a feud between the stars.
In the complaint, obtained by Business Insider, Lively said she met with Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath during production to address the “hostile work environment that had nearly derailed production of the film.”
The meeting resulted in all parties agreeing to a number of stipulations, including “no more showing nude videos or images of women, including the producer’s wife,” to Lively (who is addressed as “BL” in other parts of the complaint) or her employees.
It also required “no more mention of Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath’s previous ‘pornography addiction’ or BL’s lack of pornography consumption to BL or to other crew members.”
During the movie’s late summer press tour, social media users criticized Lively’s lighthearted approach to the movie’s marketing, which led to a wave of backlash. Reports also began to surface that Lively and Baldoni feuded during production and had made separate cuts of the movie (Lively’s ultimately won).
Lively said in the complaint that Baldoni and his team engaged in “social manipulation” to destroy her reputation through a “sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation for Ms. Lively exercising her legally protected right to speak up about their misconduct on the set, with the additional objective of intimidating her and anyone else from revealing in public what actually occurred.”
Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and his company, Wayfarer Studios, said in a statement to BI that the claims made in the complaint were “categorically false” and “intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation, which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions,” the statement said.
A representative for Lively referred BI to a statement shared with The New York Times on Saturday.
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” the statement said.
She also told the outlet that neither she nor her representatives ever spread negative stories about Baldoni or Wayfarer Studios.
Since the lawsuit, Lively has received a wave of support from family and people she has worked with in Hollywood.
Here’s who has spoken out in support of Lively.
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