Blake Lively has initiated legal action against her co-star Justin Baldoni from “It Ends With Us,” accusing him of sexual harassment and efforts to “destroy” her reputation.
In the legal documents, she claims that Justin Baldoni and his associates launched attacks on her public image following a discussion that included her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, addressing Baldoni’s persistent sexual harassment and other unsettling conduct alongside a producer.
The legal representatives for Mr. Baldoni have declared the accusations “categorically false,” mentioning that a crisis manager was appointed after Ms. Lively allegedly threatened to derail the movie’s progress if her conditions were not met.
In the romantic drama, Ms. Lively portrays a woman entangled with a charismatic yet abusive boyfriend, played by Mr. Baldoni.
The legal documents reveal that a meeting involving Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni occurred on January 4th of this year, aimed at discussing the hostile work environment on the movie set.
Ryan Reynolds, star of Deadpool and not a cast member of “It Ends With Us,” supported his wife during this critical meeting, as per the legal complaint, which precedes potential lawsuit actions.
Mr. Baldoni, aged 40, was present at this meeting as a co-chairman and founder of Wayfarer Studios, the film’s production company, and served as the director.
According to the legal complaint, Ms. Lively’s attorneys allege that Mr. Baldoni and Jamey Heath, CEO of Wayfarer, exhibited inappropriate and unwanted behavior towards Ms. Lively and other staff during the filming of “It Ends With Us.”
In the submission to the California Civil Rights Department, a list of 30 demands was presented during the meeting, addressing alleged misconduct to facilitate the continued production of the film.
The complaint states that among the demands, Ms. Lively, aged 37, asked for an end to mentions of Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath’s past “pornography addiction” in conversations with her or other crew members.
She also requested the cessation of describing their genitalia to her and a prohibition on including additional sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxing involving Ms. Lively that were not part of the script she approved when joining the project.
Ms. Lively also insisted that Mr. Baldoni cease claiming he could communicate with her deceased father.
Her legal team accuses Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of orchestrating a comprehensive strategy to ruin her reputation.
She alleges this was the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her and others from speaking out about the hostile environment that Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath created.
In response to these allegations, Mr. Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, expressed on Saturday, “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.”
Mr. Freedman charged Ms. Lively with making excessive demands and threats, such as threatening not to show up on set or promote the film, which could ultimately lead to its demise during release if her demands were not met.
He criticized Ms. Lively’s accusations as being intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.
In a statement via her attorneys, Ms. Lively said: “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.”
She also refuted any claims of her or her representatives spreading negative information about Mr. Baldoni or Wayfarer.
Despite the controversies, the film was a box office success, though some reviewers criticized it for glamorizing domestic abuse.
Shortly after its release in August, co-star Brandon Sklenar hinted on Instagram at underlying tensions between Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni.
Speculation about their discord escalated when they were notably absent from appearing together on the red carpet.
“It Ends With Us” chronicles the life of Lily Bloom, a Boston florist played by Ms. Lively, caught in a love triangle involving her abusive boyfriend Ryle Kincaid, portrayed by Mr. Baldoni, and her compassionate first love, Atlas Corrigan, played by Mr. Sklenar.
The movie is adapted from the best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover, who has cited her mother’s experience with domestic abuse as inspiration.
