Blake Lively accuses ‘It Ends With Us’ co-star Justin Baldoni in a smear campaign

Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against her This Ends With Us co-star Justine Baldoni, accusing her of sexual harassment and a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.

According to court documents, she accuses Mr. Baldoni and his team of attacking her public image after a meeting she brought her actor husband Ryan Reynolds with her to address “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Mr. Baldoni and the producer. on film.

Mr Baldoni’s legal team told the BBC the allegations were “categorically false” and said they had hired the crisis manager because Ms Lively had threatened to disrupt the film if her demands were not met.

In the romantic drama, Ms. Lively plays a woman who finds herself in a relationship with a charming but hurtful boyfriend, played by Mr. Baldoni.

The meeting between Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni, along with other members of the film’s production team, took place on Jan. 4 this year and was intended to address a “hostile work environment” on the set, the legal filing said.

Ms. Lively’s husband, the “Deadpool” star Mr. Reynolds, who did not appear in “It Ends With Us,” joined her in the showdown, according to the lawsuit, which is one step toward trial.

Mr. Baldoni, 40, attended the meeting as co-chairman and co-founder of the company that produced the film, Wayfarer Studios. He also directed the film.

In the lawsuit, Ms. Lively’s lawyers allege that both Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer chief executive Jamie Heath engaged in “inappropriate and undesirable behavior toward Ms. Lively and others on the set of It Ends With Us.”

In a filing with the California Department of Civil Rights, the meeting made a list of 30 demands related to the couple’s alleged misconduct to ensure they can continue production of the film.

Among them, Ms Lively, 37, requested no further mention of Mr Baldoni’s and Mr Heath’s previous “pornographic addiction” to Ms Lively or other crew members, no further descriptions of their genitalia to Ms Lively and “no more addition of sexual scenes, oral sex or climax to BL’s (Blake Lively) camera outside of the approved script BL, when signing the project,” says the complaint.

Ms Lively also demanded that Mr Baldoni stop saying he could speak to her dead father.

Ms. Lively’s legal team also accuses Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of developing a “multi-level plan” to destroy her reputation.

She claims it was “the intended result of a carefully designed, coordinated and resourced retaliation scheme to silence her and others about the hostile environment that Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath created.”

Responding to the legal complaint, Mr. Baldoni’s lawyer, Brian Friedman, said on Saturday: “It is disgraceful that Ms. Lively and her representatives are making such serious and patently false allegations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and her representatives. “.

Mr. Friedman accused Ms. Lively of making numerous demands and threats, including “threats not to show up on set, threats not to promote the movie,” which would eventually lead to its termination during the release if her demands were not met. “. .

He argued Ms Lively’s claims were “deliberately obscene to publicly offend and reframe the media narrative”.

In a statement sent to the BBC through her lawyers, Ms Lively said: “I hope my legal action will help lift the lid on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about wrongdoing, and help protect others who may be targeted.” .

She also denied that she or any of her representatives circulated or disseminated negative information about Mr. Baldoni or Wayfarer.

The film was a box office hit, although some critics said it romanticized domestic violence.

Shortly after the show aired in August, another co-star, Brandon Sklenar, hinted at rumors of a rift between Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni in an Instagram post.

Speculations about the quarrel only grew when they did not appear together on the red carpet.

It Ends With Us tells the story of Boston florist Lily Bloom, played by Ms. Lively, as she navigates a love triangle between her charming but hurtful boyfriend Ryle Kincaid, played by Mr. Baldoni, and her sympathetic first love, Atlas Corrigan, played by Mr. Sklenar.

It is based on the best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover. The 45-year-old author has previously said she was inspired by the domestic violence her mother experienced.

In an interview with the BBC at the film’s premiere in August, Ms Lively said she felt a “responsibility to serve people who care so much about the source material”.

“I really feel that we have prepared a story that is emotional and fun, but also funny and painful and scary and tragic and inspiring, and that’s what life is, it’s all colors,” the actress said.

Ms Lively, who is also a producer, told the BBC she felt the film was made “with a lot of empathy”.

“Lily is a survivor and a victim, and while they’re huge labels, that’s not who she is,” Ms Lively said. “She defines herself, and I think it’s very empowering that no one else can define you.”