Blake Lively accuses "It Ends with Us" co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment, smear campaign
Actress Blake Lively is suing her "It Ends with Us" co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment.
For months, rumors swirled of an onset of discord between the two actors that appears to have culminated with a lawsuit by Lively in which she alleges Baldoni – who was also the film's director – caused her "severe emotional distress."
The complaint, which was obtained by CBS News, names Baldoni, the studio behind "It Ends With Us" and Baldoni's publicists among the defendants. The New York Times first reported the complaint, which was filed Friday with the California Civil Rights Department.
The complaint lays out the 37-year-old actress' allegations against her co-star, including that after a meeting in which she and her husband Ryan Reynolds addressed "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior" by Baldoni and a producer on the movie, he and the studio "embarked on a "multi-tiered plan" to damage her reputation following the meeting."
In a statement to the New York Times, Lively said she hopes her legal action "helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory actions to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted." A representative for Lively referred CBS News to the Times report, in which Lively denied planting or spreading negative information about Baldoni or the studio.
According to the New York Times, the lawsuit also included alleged texts from Baldoni's publicist to the studio publicist which says the actor "wants to feel like she can be buried," and "We can't write we will destroy her."
The complaint also says Baldoni "abruptly pivoted away from" the movie's marketing plan and "used domestic violence 'survivor content' to protect his public image."
"These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media," attorney Bryan Freedman told the AP in a statement. Freedman represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives.
Freedman pushed back against Lively's allegations of a coordinated campaign, saying the studio "proactively" hired a crisis manager "due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production." He said Lively threatened to not appear on set and not promote the film "if her demands were not met." Those demands were not specified 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 waited for the movie's release.
However, in the days and weeks leading up to the release, rumors swirled regarding the 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 movie's main character, Lily, while Baldoni played a neurosurgeon who seems like a nice guy but becomes abusive.
In an interview with CBS Mornings, while promoting the film, Baldoni said he hoped the movie helps to create a safer world through compassion and empathy. He said he wants men to go see the romance movie and take accountability in their lives after watching it.
"I want men to go to the theater and in some ways see a version of themselves. You have two very different characters. Both of them in Atlas and Ryle have had past trauma," he said. "One handles it very different than the other and my other hope is the men who have not done the work, who have not done the work to heal, if they see bits of themselves in Ryle, have a chance to step back and say, 'You know what, I don't want to blow up my life. I don't want to hurt the person I love the most.'"