Blake Lively recently filed a lawsuit against her It Ends with Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment and alleged retaliation by coordinating a smearing campaign.
During the film's release in late summer, there were rumors of a feud between Lively and Baldoni as they were noticeably distant during the press tour and fans spotted that Lively and the other stars of the film had unfollowed Baldoni on social media.
Blake Lively's Lawsuit Against Justin Baldoni Explained
According to reports, Lively alleged in her complaint that Baldoni, producer Jamey Heath, and It Ends with Us production company Wayfarer Studios created a hostile work environment during the production of the film.
The actress claimed that they made inappropriate actions such as Baldoni improvising unwanted kissing and discussing his sex life, Heath showing her a video of his wife giving birth naked, and both men repeatedly entering her makeup trailer uninvited while she was undressed or breastfeeding her child.
Things went so bad that an all-hands-on-deck meeting was held to address Lively's complaints.
Some of the demands that Lively has during the meeting are no more showing of nude videos or images of women, no mentions of Baldoni’s alleged "pornography addiction," no more discussions of sexual experiences and mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Lively’s weight, and no more mention of Baldoni "speaking" to Lively's late father.
Most importantly, Lively also asked that there be no additional sex scenes outside of the scope that she approved when signed on to the project.
Sony and Wayfarer Studios reportedly approved the actress' demands during the meeting.
For the promotional campaign of the film, the cast and crew were contractually obligated to focus "more on Lily’s [Lively’s character] strength and resilience as opposed to describing the film as a story about domestic violence" and "avoid talking about this film that makes it feel sad or heavy [sic]—it’s a story of hope."
However, once the press tour finally took place, the complaint claimed that Baldoni pivoted to focus more on the domestic violence aspect of the story.
The actor/director also allegedly worked with publicist Melissa Nathan to start a smear campaign against the actress on social media and "destroy" her reputation such as planting negative stories and amplifying the criticisms against her to sway the public from her side.
Through a subpoena, Lively's team managed to obtain documents proving the PR campaign's alleged smear campaign and the communications between the people involved.
"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," Lively said in a statement.
It Ends with Us author Colleen Hoover has publicly shown her support for Lively amid the lawsuit.
Justin Baldoni's Response to the Lawsuit
Baldoni's lawyer Bryan Freedman released a statement in response to the lawsuit and slammed Lively's claims:
In the wake of the lawsuit, Baldoni has been dropped by his talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME) as a client.
What do you think of the lawsuit? Let us know in the comments!
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