Blake Lively sues It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment
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Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment. This comes a few months after speculation about a possible conflict between the two circulated online.
The 37-year-old actor from Gossip Girl took on the role of Lily Bloom in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's popular 2016 romance novel. In the story, she becomes entangled with an abusive partner, Ryle Kincaid, portrayed by Baldoni.
In the legal case acquired by TMZ, Lively asserts that Baldoni, who directed It Ends with Us, displayed actions that led to her experiencing significant emotional turmoil.
According to the lawsuit, a meeting took place with participants such as Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, Baldoni, and their attorneys, to discuss the allegations made by the star of The Age of Adeline, as reported by TMZ.
Lively set several conditions for her involvement in the film, as indicated in the lawsuit reported by the outlet. These included prohibiting nude videos or images of women from being shown to Blake, avoiding references to Baldoni's supposed past issues with pornography, refraining from talking about sexual encounters in front of Blake and others, stopping any discussions regarding cast and crew members' private parts, avoiding questions about Blake's weight, and not bringing up Blake's deceased father.
Moreover, according to TMZ, the lawsuit included other stipulations such as "no more inclusion of sexual scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxing by BL beyond what was outlined in the script that BL agreed to when joining the project."
According to the source, the lawsuit states that Sony Pictures, the film's distributors, granted Lively's requests. However, the actress alleges in her legal filing that Baldoni subsequently launched a campaign aimed at damaging her reputation as a response.
Bryan Freeman, Baldoni's attorney, informed TMZ that Lively initiated her lawsuit to try to repair her tarnished reputation.
He told the publication that the claims made by the A Simple Favor actress are "untrue, absurd, and deliberately scandalous, aimed at causing public harm."
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The lawyer mentioned that Lively had created problems on the movie set by “threatening to skip work, refusing to promote the film, which ultimately contributed to its failure at the box office.”
The Independent has reached out to Baldoni and Lively's representatives for a statement.
While promoting *It Ends With Us* on a press tour, Lively faced backlash for what some perceived as her insensitivity regarding the film's serious themes of domestic violence and abuse.
In the midst of the unfolding situation, a reporter spoke about her “nightmare” interview with the Gossip Girl actress from 2016. She described the encounter as “extremely disrespectful,” a sentiment echoed by fans, and revealed that it made her consider leaving her job.
Lively did not respond to the criticism directly. Nevertheless, a source informed People Magazine that she was initially quite sensitive and distressed, viewing the situation as being "out of control."
During the promotional tour for It Ends With Us, fans speculated that Baldoni may have been "excluded" by Lively and her husband due to differences in their creative visions.
On TikTok, someone noticed that Lively and Baldoni didn't pose for a photo together during the film's premiere in August. At the same time, some people mentioned that neither Lively nor Reynolds follow Baldoni on Instagram.
Despite the widespread rumors of a feud, Baldoni complimented Lively while on the Today show, referring to her as a "dynamic creative."
"I believe her most recognized role is as an actress, and undoubtedly, she's a fashion icon as well, but there’s so much more to her than just that," he remarked.
"She is a passionate and innovative creator. She was involved in every aspect of this project, and her contribution improved everything she worked on."
