Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against her co-star Justin Baldoni, alleging he sexually harassed her on the set of their hit film.
The ‘It ends with us’ stars have just begun their legal battle, with Lively accusing Baldoni, who also directed the film, of leading “a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation” following the film’s release. She claims this campaign has harmed her business and caused her family “severe emotional distress.”
It Ends With Us, a domestic violence drama based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, was released in theatres this year. At the time, rumours of a rift between Lively and Baldoni spread, with both declining to appear together for the film’s promotional events.
Lively also faced a wave of bad publicity, including being dubbed a “mean girl” after a journalist claimed an uncomfortable interview with her led to her quitting her job as per the New York Post.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, has vehemently denied Lively’s allegations, telling TMZ that the lawsuit was an attempt to “fix her negative reputation.” He labelled the claims “false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt,” and accused Lively of being a “nightmare” on set.
However, Lively’s lawsuit paints a different picture, alleging that Baldoni’s actions created an untenable working environment during filming. She claims that things got so bad that an “all-hands-on-deck meeting” was called to address what she describes as a hostile work environment.
Her husband, Ryan Reynolds, attended this tense meeting, where Lively and Reynolds made several demands. These included no more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively, no further mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous “pornography addiction,” and no more discussions about sexual conquests in her presence.
They also insisted that Baldoni should not make any inquiries about Lively’s weight or mention her late father.
Lively also demanded that no more sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxing are to be added beyond the scope of the script she had initially approved. As per the lawsuit, these demands were approved by Sony, the studio behind the film.
Lively and Baldoni later clashed over how the movie should be marketed. Lively wanted a more positive pitch highlighting her character’s resilience, whereas Baldoni pushed for a focus on domestic violence.
Lively claims that Baldoni and his allies engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to “destroy” her reputation. As evidence, she includes texts from Baldoni’s publicist to a studio publicist, in which it was stated that the actor “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried.”
Ironically, the rumours surrounding the Lively and Baldoni feud only fueled interest in the film, which opened in the US in August. The tension between them helped garner publicity, contributing to the film’s success. It went on to gross more than $350 million worldwide, making it a box-office smash.