Blake Lively has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, four months after the film’s release in theaters.
During press for the film, both the Gossip Girl alum, 37, and the Jane The Virgin actor, 40, became embroiled in speculation of feuds that began when they were not photographed together at events and were rumored to have had creative differences on set.
The drama arose further when interviews in which the actress was “rude” to journalists resurfaced and went viral on social media.
Lively alleged in the lawsuit that Baldoni created a toxic environment on set, showed her images and videos of naked women, and talked to her about his alleged past addiction to pornography, all of which has been denied by Justin’s legal team, according to TMZ.
Amid news of the lawsuit, photos taken in August resurfaced showing how Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and best friend Taylor Swift supported her at the height of the drama.
Lively visited the Grammy winner’s then-$17 million Rhode Island mansion to celebrate her birthday after ‘fearing’ for her career.
Blake Lively, 37, has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, 40, four months after the film’s release in theaters; seen in November in Los Angeles
Amid news of the lawsuit, photos taken in August resurfaced showing how Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and best friend Taylor Swift supported her at the height of the drama.
In the images you could see the actress keeping a low profile while hugging the Deadpool actor outside the home.
The couple, who married in 2012, also shared a sweet kiss before their quiet birthday festivities at Swift’s vacation home.
The Bad Blood singer has often shared photos of the house in the past during her Fourth of July parties.
Other guests who visited Taylor at her mansion were the artist’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, his wife Brittany Mahomes, Bradley Cooper and their daughter Lea.
Shortly after his birthday, Variety He reportedly confirmed that “the bad blood between” Blake and Justin “is very real.”
And a source said People that, ‘At first she felt very vulnerable and upset. During the promotion of the film not a single day went by that she was not in the news in an unfavorable light. She’s just not used to this kind of drama.
The source added that she was “quite surprised by the reaction and drama” and that the overall situation “seemed out of control to her.”
In August, It Ends With Us was released in theaters and despite the drama, the film was a box office success grossing around $351 million on a $25 million budget.
Lively visited the Grammy winner’s $17 million Rhode Island mansion at the time to celebrate her birthday after ‘fearing’ for her career; Swift seen with Lively last year
In the images you can see the actress keeping a low profile while hugging the Deadpool actor outside the home.
Not long after her birthday, Variety reportedly confirmed that “the bad blood between “Blake and Justin” is very real.”
At the time, Blake was photographed arriving at Taylor’s mansion in late August following backlash for promoting her Betty Booze alcohol brand while promoting the film, which focuses on domestic violence.
Additionally, she received backlash after awkward interviews during press for the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel.
In an interview, Lively was asked how she would respond if someone approached her to discuss the film’s themes.
She had responded jokingly: “Ask me for my address or my phone number.” Or I could just share my location with you and then we could…’
Previous interviews also resurfaced, such as one from 2016, when a reporter complimented Blake, who was pregnant at the time, on her baby bump.
Lively shared the same comment with the reporter who was not pregnant and could not conceive her own children.
But drama also surrounded the actress and her co-star Justin Baldoni when fans noticed the couple seemingly avoiding each other in the press and at red carpet events.
Lively also unfollowed him on social media, as well as other cast members and Hoover.
The source added that she was “quite surprised by the reaction and drama” and that the overall situation “seemed out of control to her”; seen in august in london
But drama also surrounded the actress and her co-star Justin Baldoni when fans noticed the couple seemingly avoiding each other at press and red carpet events.
It was also rumored that both Blake and Justin, who did not do any interviews together, had differences during the filming of It Ends With Us.
In August, a source said People regarding Baldoni that, ‘Not everything is what it seems. There is much more to this story. The main cast and Colleen Hoover will have nothing to do with him.
The source added that Lively “wants to direct the next movie, putting him aside and securing the rights to Colleen.”
A separate source said Us weekly that the drama was due to creative differences during production.
Lively previously claimed in August that she felt “embarrassed” by Baldoni and claimed she felt uncomfortable when a kissing scene “went on” longer than necessary.
And in the lawsuit, Blake also claimed that Baldoni asked inappropriate questions about her weight, comments about her dead father and sexual comments about the cast and crew.
The situation became so unworkable that she and her husband Ryan Reynolds demanded crisis talks during filming to end the behavior, according to the lawsuit.
Lively also requested: “No more sex scenes, oral sex or on-camera climaxes by BL (Blake Lively) outside the scope of the script that BL approved when signing on to the project,” according to the documents.
The demands were allegedly accepted by the studio, but the film’s release was still hampered by a dispute between Lively and Baldoni over how it should be marketed, according to the lawsuit.
And in the lawsuit, Blake also claimed that Baldoni asked inappropriate questions about her weight, comments about her dead father and sexual comments about the cast and crew; seen earlier this month in New York
Lively claims Baldoni’s team engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to tarnish her reputation.
The lawsuit includes text messages from the director’s publicist to the studio that allegedly say Baldoni “wants to feel like (Lively) can be buried and “We can’t write, we’ll destroy her.”
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, responded to the lawsuit by calling it “false, scandalous and intentionally lewd with the intent to publicly injure.”
He insisted the legal action is an attempt by Lively to “fix her negative reputation” after rumors emerged about diva-like behavior on set.
This included, “threatening not to show up to set, threatening not to promote the film, and ultimately leading to its demise during the premiere,” according to Freedman.
The romantic drama follows Blake Lively’s Lily Bloom as she becomes embroiled in an abusive relationship with Justin Baldoni’s Ryle Kincaid.
An alleged point of contention was how the film should be marketed, as Lively reportedly wanted to make the story more upbeat in contrast to Baldoni, who felt it should focus more on the abuse aspect.
Insiders revealed the disturbing truth about tensions on set, telling DailyMail.com that Blake and Justin clashed over their “dismissive” attitude towards their “inputs” while filming scenes involving abuse.
Since then, fans have reacted to the actress’ sexual harassment lawsuit, with some siding with Lively and others coming to Baldoni’s defense.
Lively claims that Baldoni’s team then engaged in a “social manipulation” campaign to tarnish her reputation; seen earlier this month in Los Angeles
Baldoni’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, responded to the lawsuit by calling it “false, scandalous and intentionally lewd with the intent to publicly injure.”
On X, one wrote: “Blake Lively tries to accuse Justin Baldoni and his team of inciting a smear campaign when that was her behavior.” Why not take responsibility?
‘I don’t believe that Blake Lively is suddenly a victim’s demand. Even the wording on the suit is very slippery and strange. I don’t really see anything worth suing for; she’s just trying to do damage control,” one shared.
However, other X fans came to his defense, with one saying: “Every cast member from that movie unfollowed Justin Baldoni.” It should have been enough to at least give him a sideways glance, no matter how much you hate Blake Lively.
Another insisted: ‘Please read the article guys. This is serious and I understand why you filed the lawsuit. Sexual harassment at work isn’t like what you think. “Blake Lively is perfectly justified.”