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 premiered in theaters.
During press time for the film, both the Gossip Girl alum, 37, and the Jane The Virgin actor, 40, were embroiled in feud speculation that started when they weren’t pictured together at events and were rumored to have creative differences had on set.
Drama further ensued when resurfaced interviews in which the actress was “rude” to reporters went viral on social media.
Lively alleged in the lawsuit that Baldoni created a toxic environment on set, showed her nude photos and videos of women, and talked to her about her alleged past porn addiction — all of which have been denied by Justin’s legal team, per TMZ.
Amid the news of the lawsuit, resurfaced photos from August showed Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and BFF Taylor Swift rallying behind her at the height of the drama.
At the time, Lively visited the Grammy winner’s $17 million mansion in Rhode Island 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 premiered in theaters; seen in November in LA
Amid the lawsuit news, resurfaced photos from August showed Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and BFF Taylor Swift rallying behind her at the height of the drama
The footage showed the actress keeping a low profile as she hugged the Deadpool actor outside the home.
The couple – who tied the knot in 2012 – also shared a sweet kiss ahead of her low-key birthday festivities at Swift’s vacation home.
The Bad Blood singer has often shared photos of the house during her Fourth of July bashes in the past.
Other guests who visited Taylor at her mansion included the artist’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, his wife Brittany Mahomes, Bradley Cooper and his daughter Lea.
Not long after her birthday, Variety has reportedly confirmed that “the bad blood between ‘Blake and Justin’ is very real.”
And that’s what a source said People that: ‘She initially felt very vulnerable and angry. During the promotion of the film, not a 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 insider added that she was “quite surprised by the reaction and the drama” and that the overall situation was “getting out of control for her.”
In August, It Ends With Us was released in theaters and despite the drama, the film was a box office success, grossing approximately $351 million on a $25 million budget.
At the time, Lively visited the Grammy winner’s $17 million Rhode Island mansion to celebrate her birthday after “fearing” for her career; Swift seen last year with Lively
The footage showed the actress keeping a low profile as she hugged 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 after backlash for plugging her alcohol brand Betty Booze during promotion of the film – which focuses on domestic violence.
She received further backlash after awkward press interviews for the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 novel.
In an interview, Lively was asked how she would react if someone came to her to discuss the themes in the film.
She had jokingly replied: ‘Ask for my address or my telephone number. Or I can just share my location with you, and then we can…’
Previous interviews also returned, such as one from 2016 when a reporter congratulated Blake – who was pregnant at the time – on her baby bump.
Lively shared the same comment with the reporter, who was not pregnant and unable to have children of her own.
But drama also arose surrounding the actress and her co-star Justin Baldoni when fans noticed the pair seemingly avoiding each other at press and red carpet events.
He was also unfollowed by Lively on social media, as well as other cast members and Hoover.
The insider added that she was “quite surprised by the response and drama” and that the overall situation was “getting out of control for her”; seen in August in London
But there was also drama surrounding the actress and her co-star Justin Baldoni as fans noticed the pair seemingly avoiding each other at press and red carpet events.
There were also rumors that both Blake and Justin – who did not do interviews together – had disagreements while filming on the set of It Ends With Us.
In August, a source said People regarding Baldoni: ‘Everything is not as it seems. There is much more to this story. The leads and Colleen Hoover want nothing to do with him.”
The insider added that Lively “wants to direct the next movie, sideline him and secure Colleen’s rights.”
A separate source says this We weekly that the drama was due to creative differences during production.
Lively previously claimed in August that she felt “fat shamed” by Baldoni, claiming she felt uncomfortable when a kissing scene lingered longer than necessary.
And in the lawsuit, Blake also alleged that Baldoni asked inappropriate questions about her weight, comments about her late father and sexual comments about the cast and crew.
The situation became so unworkable that she and husband Ryan Reynolds demanded crisis meetings during filming to put a stop to the behavior, the lawsuit said.
Lively also requested, “No more sex scenes, oral sex or climaxes on camera by BL [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script approved by BL at the signing of the project,” the documents say.
The demands were reportedly accepted by the studio, but the film’s release was still hampered by a dispute between Lively and Baldoni over how to market the film, the lawsuit said.
And in the lawsuit, Blake also alleged that Baldoni asked inappropriate questions about her weight, comments about her late father and sexual comments about the cast and crew; seen in NYC earlier this month
Lively claims Baldoni’s team then waged a “social manipulation” campaign to damage her reputation.
The lawsuit includes text messages from the director’s publicist to the studio, in which Baldoni allegedly says “wants to feel like [Lively] can be buried, and ‘We cannot write that we will destroy her.’
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman responded to the lawsuit as “false, scandalous and deliberately lascivious with the intent to publicly injure.”
He emphasized that the legal action is an attempt by Lively to “repair her negative reputation” after rumors spread of diva-like behavior on set.
This included “threatening not to show up on set, threatening not to promote the film, which ultimately led to its demise during its release,” according to Freedman.
The romantic drama follows Lily Bloom, played by Blake Lively, as she becomes involved in an abusive relationship with Justin Baldoni’s Ryle Kincaid.
A perceived point of contention was how to market the film, with Lively reportedly wanting to make the story more optimistic in contrast to Baldoni, who felt the film should focus more on the abuse aspect.
Insiders revealed the worrying truth about the tensions, telling DailyMail.com that Blake and Justin argued about his ‘dismissive’ attitude towards her ‘input’ while they were filming scenes involving abuse.
Fans have since responded 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 waged a “social manipulation” campaign to damage her reputation; seen in LA earlier this month
Baldoni’s attorney Bryan Freedman responded to the lawsuit as “false, scandalous and deliberately lascivious with the intent to publicly injure”
On Why don’t we take responsibility?’
‘I don’t believe this. Blake Lively is suddenly a victim case. Even the wording of the suit is very slick and strange. I don’t really see anything worth filing a lawsuit for; she’s just trying to do damage control,” one person shared.
However, other fans on It should have been enough to at least keep an eye on him, no matter how much you hate Blake Lively.”
Another insisted: “Read the article guys. This is serious and I understand why she filed charges. Sexual harassment in the workplace doesn’t look like what you think. Blake Lively is absolutely right.”