Actress Blake Lively is suing her “This ends with us” co-star Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment.
For months, rumors of a rift between the two actors that appears to have culminated in a lawsuit by Lively in which she alleges that Baldoni – who was also the director of the film – caused her “great distress emotional”.
The complaint, which has been obtained by CBS News, names Baldoni, the studio behind “It Ends With Us” and Baldoni’s publicists as defendants. The New York Times first reported the complaint, which was filed Friday with the California Department of Civil Rights.
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The complaint outlines the 37-year-old actress’ allegations against her co-star, including after a meeting in which she and husband Ryan Reynolds addressed “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by part of Baldoni and a producer of the film. , he and the studio “embarked on a ‘multi-level plan’ to damage his 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 sinister retaliatory actions to harm people who speak out about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted.” A rep 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’s publicist saying the actor “wants to feel like he can be buried” and “We can’t write, we’ll destroy it.”
The complaint also says Baldoni “abruptly departed” from the film’s marketing plan and “used domestic violence ‘survivor content’ to protect her public image.”
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with the intent to hurt the public and repeat a media narrative,” attorney Bryan Freedman told the AP in a statement. Freedman represents Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives.
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Freedman rejected 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 not to appear on set and not promote the film “if her demands were not met.” These demands were not specified in the statement.
The film, which was released in August, is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover. The book has spent 164 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and its devoted fans have been waiting for the release of the film.
However, in the days and weeks leading up to the premiere, there were rumors of an alleged on-set fight between Lively and Baldoni. While promoting the film, Baldoni did most of her press solo and did not pose with the cast during the film’s New York premiere.
Lively played the film’s main character, Lily, while Baldoni played a neurosurgeon who seems like a nice guy but turns abusive.
In an interview with CBS morningswhile 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 the romantic film and take responsibility for their lives after watching it.
“I want men to go to the theater and somehow see a version of themselves. You have two very different characters. Both of Atlas and Ryle have had past trauma,” he said. “One handles it very differently than the other and my other hope is the men who haven’t done the work, who haven’t done the work to heal, if they see pieces of themselves in Ryle, they get 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.”