Blake Lively accuses It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni of smear campaign

Blake Lively has filed a legal complaint against It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni, accusing her of sexual harassment and a campaign to “destroy” her reputation.

According to the legal filing, she accuses Mr. Baldoni and his team of attacking her public image after a meeting in which she brought her husband, the actor Ryan Reynolds, to address “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” by Mr. Baldoni and a producer. On the movie.

Mr Baldoni’s legal team told the BBC that the allegations were “completely false”, and said they had appointed a crisis manager because Ms Lively had threatened to derail the film unless her demands were met.

In the romantic drama, Ms. Lively plays a woman who finds herself in a relationship with her charming but abusive boyfriend, played by Mr. Baldoni.

The meeting between Lively and Baldoni, along with others involved in the film’s production, took place on January 4 of this year and was intended to address the “hostile work environment” on set, according to the legal filing.

Ms. Lively’s husband, Deadpool star Mr. Reynolds, who did not appear in It Ends With Us, joined her in the confrontation, according to the legal complaint, one step before filing a lawsuit.

Mr. Baldoni, 40, attended the meeting in his capacity as co-chairman and co-founder of the company that produced the film, Wayfarer Studios. He was also the film’s director.

In the legal complaint, Lively’s lawyers allege that Baldoni and Wayfarer CEO Jimmy Heath engaged in “inappropriate and unwelcome conduct toward Ms. Lively and others on the set of It Ends With Us.”

In the filing with the California Department of Civil Rights, a list of 30 demands related to the couple’s alleged misconduct was presented at the meeting to ensure they could continue production of the film.

Among them, Ms. Lively, 37, requested that Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath not be mentioned further about Mr. Baldoni’s and Mr. Heath’s past “pornography addictions” to Ms. Lively or other crew members, that no further descriptions of their genitals be provided to Ms. Lively, and that “no further details be provided.” Add sex scenes, oral sex or climax on camera by BL [Blake Lively] Outside the scope of the script that BL approved when signing on to the project,” the complaint says.

Ms. Lively also demanded that Mr. Baldoni stop saying he could talk to her deceased father.

Ms. Lively’s legal team also accuses Mr. Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios of leading a “multi-level plan” to destroy her reputation.

She claims this was “the intended result of a carefully crafted, coordinated and resourced retaliation scheme to silence her and others from speaking out about the hostile environment created by Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath.”

In response to the legal complaint, Mr. Baldoni’s lawyer, Brian Friedman, said on Saturday: “It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives.”

Mr. Friedman accused Ms. Lively of making numerous demands and threats, including “threatening not to show up on set, and threatening not to promote the film,” which could ultimately lead to “its demise during release, if her demands are not met.” .

He claimed Ms Lively’s claims were “deliberately lewd with the intent to publicly harm and reshape the narrative in the media”.

In a statement through her lawyer to the BBC, Ms Lively said: “I hope my legal action will help lift the curtain on these evil retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak out about misconduct, and help protect others who may be targeted.”

She also denied that she or any of her representatives planted or disseminated negative information about Mr. Baldoni or Wayfarer.

The film was a box office success, although some critics said it romanticized domestic violence.

Shortly after the August release date, another star, Brandon Sklenar, alluded in an Instagram post to rumors of a rift between Ms. Lively and Mr. Baldoni.

Speculation about a rift only increased when they did not appear together on the red carpet.

The film tells the story of Boston florist Lily Bloom, played by Ms. Lively, as she navigates a love triangle between her charming, abusive boyfriend Rail Kincaid, played by Mr. Baldoni, and her compassionate first love, played by Atlas Corrigan. Mr. Sklenar.

It is based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel. The 45-year-old writer had previously said that her inspiration was the domestic violence her mother suffered.

In an interview with the BBC at the film’s premiere in August, Lively said she felt “a responsibility to serve the people who care so much about the source material.”

“I really feel like we delivered a story that’s emotional and fun, but it’s also funny and painful and scary and tragic and inspiring, and that’s life, it’s in every color,” the actress said.

Lively, who is also credited as a producer, told the BBC she felt the film was made “with a lot of empathy.”

“Lily is a survivor and a victim, and although these labels are huge, this is not who she is,” Ms. Lively said. “She defines herself and I think it’s deeply empowering that no one else can define you.”