Actress Blake Lively is suing him “It ends with us” Co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment.
For months, rumors swirled of a falling out between the two actors, culminating in Lively's lawsuit in which she accused Baldoni – who was also the film's director – of causing her “severe emotional distress”.
The complaint, which was obtained by CBS News, names Baldoni, the studio behind “It End's With Us” and Baldoni's publicists as defendants. the new York Times The complaint was first filed with the California Department of Civil Rights on Friday.
Scott A. Garfitt/Invision/AP
The 37-year-old actress makes allegations against her co-star in the complaint, including an allegation that they followed a meeting in which she and her husband Ryan Reynolds faced “repeated sexual harassment and other harassment” by Baldoni and a producer on the film. behavior”. , he and the studio “launched a “multi-level plan” to damage her reputation after the meeting.”
in a statement to new York TimesLively said she hopes her legal action will “help pull back the curtain on these horrific retaliatory actions that harm people who speak out about misconduct and help protect those who may be targeted.” ” A representative for Lively referred CBS News to the Times report, in which Lively denied creating or spreading negative information about Baldoni or the studio.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit also includes alleged messages from Baldoni's publicist to a studio publicist, stating that the actor “wants to feel like he can be buried,” and “We can't write, we Will destroy him.”
The complaint also states that Baldoni “abruptly departed” from the film's marketing plan and “used domestic violence 'survivor material' to protect his public image.”
“These claims are completely false, defamatory and deliberately defamatory with the intent to hurt the public and repeat a narrative in the media,” attorney Brian Friedman told the AP in a statement. Friedman represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its agents.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Friedman rejected Lively's allegations of a coordinated campaign, saying that the studio had proactively hired a crisis manager “due to the numerous demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production”. He said Lively threatened “that he would not come to the set and promote the film if his demands were not met.” Those demands were not mentioned in the statement.
The film, which was released in August, is based on Colleen Hoover's best-selling novel of the same name. The book has spent 164 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and its devoted fans await the release of the film.
However, in the days and weeks before release, rumors swirled about an alleged on-set feud between Lively and Baldoni. During promotion for the film, Baldoni did most of his press solo and did not pose with the cast during the film's New York premiere.
Lively played the film's lead character Lily, while Baldoni played a neurosurgeon who seems to be a nice guy but turns out to be abusive.
in an interview with cbs morningWhile promoting the film, Baldoni said he hoped the film would help create a safer world through compassion and empathy. He said he wants men to go see a romance film and take accountability in their lives after watching it.
He said, “I want men to go to the theater and see a version of themselves in some ways. You have two very different characters. In Atlas and Ryle they both have suffered trauma in the past.” “One handles it very differently than the other and my other hope is that people who haven't done the work, who haven't done the work to heal, if they see traces of themselves in Ryle, get behind them. A chance to step away and say, 'You know, I don't want to ruin my life, I don't want to hurt the person I love most.'