Blake Lively has accused Justin Baldoni, her co-star and director of the movie “It Ends with Us,” of sexual harassment. In a bombshell statement, the actress claims that Baldoni tried to launch a smear campaign against her and that his actions have caused her and her family “severe emotional distress” (New York). (according to a legal complaint obtained by The Times). Brian Friedman, a lawyer for Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios, hit back at Lively’s accusations in a statement to Variety. He called the lawsuit “disgraceful” and filled with “categorically false accusations.”
According to the complaint, meetings were held during the production of “It Ends with Us” to address Lively’s claims and requests for the film to be made. Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, also reportedly attended the meeting. Requests that were met reportedly included: “No more showing of nude videos or images of women to Blake, no further mention of Baldoni’s past ‘porn addiction’ allegations, no more showing of any nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s past ‘porn addiction’ allegations, no public display of any nude videos or images of women to Blake or anyone else. “There will be no further discussion of sexual conquests, and there will be no further mention of the performers.” There was no mention of the crew’s genitals, no questions about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s deceased father. ”
Lively allegedly asked Baldoni not to add any “sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxes” beyond what was in the film’s script, which she approved before filming began. The film’s distributor, Sony Pictures, reportedly approved Lively’s request, but Baldoni engaged in “social manipulation” and then launched a campaign to “destroy” Lively’s reputation, according to the complaint. He continues to criticize.
Variety has reached out to representatives for Sony Pictures and Lively for comment.
“It is disgraceful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorical false accusations against Ms. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and their representatives, and it is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorical false accusations against Ms. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and their representatives, This is yet another desperate attempt to “fix” the negative publicity she received from her comments. Actions during the film’s campaign. “Interviews and reporting activities were publicly observed in real time and unedited, allowing the internet to generate unique views and opinions,” a statement to Variety about Friedman’s accusations said.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous, and intentionally despicable aimed at publicly tarnishing and rehashing the media narrative,” Friedman continued. “Wayfarer Studios proactively hired a crisis manager in advance of the film’s marketing campaign due to multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production, including: She made the decision to work with Jones Works’ own representatives, who threatened not to come to the set and not promote the film. Failure to meet these demands ultimately led to the film being canceled during its release. Also, Ms. Lively was given negative and completely fabricated information even before the film’s marketing began. Wayfarer also enlisted the help of Vision PR’s Leslie Sloan, who also represents Reynolds, to plant false stories in the media. That’s another reason why Studios decided to hire a crisis expert to start planning internal scenarios for any cases that might need to be addressed.”
The statement concludes: “Representatives of Wayfarer Studios continue to take no active action or retaliate, only responding to media inquiries received to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitoring of social activities. What is clearly missing from the selected communications is any evidence that any proactive measures were taken against the media or other sources for internal scenario planning and strategy. Just, this is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals.”
Rumors of a feud between Lively and Baldoni spread during the press tour for It Ends With Us last August, but the two have never promoted the film together. There wasn’t. The film ended up being a huge hit for Sony, grossing $350 million worldwide. “It Ends With Us” is based on the best-selling novel by author Colleen Hoover, who wrote a sequel novel titled “It Starts With Us.” After the film’s release, a source told Variety that a sequel would not materialize because “there is probably no world in which these two would work together again.”
