Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively co-starred in the film It Ends With Us.
But when it comes to the ugly and unfortunate feud between these former colleagues?
Well. That is just beginning.
As you’ve likely heard by now, Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit last week against Baldoni.
In these legal papers, Lively accuses Baldoni of launching a smear campaign to “destroy” her reputation, while also claiming Baldoni created a hostile work environment on the set of the aforementioned book adaption.
Specifically, the documents allege that the actor caused “severe emotional distress” to Lively as a result of his behavior… which included “showing nude videos or images of women to Blake,” along with discussion of Baldoni’s past “pornography addiction” or “sexual conquests.”
In a meeting that involved Lively, husband Ryan Reynolds, Baldoni and others involved in the project, Baldoni was asked to make “no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.”
We had previously heard that Baldoni fat-shamed Lively on set, as shooting on the movie got underway not long after she gave birth.
According to The New York Times, meanwhile, Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman has now fired back against Lively troubling allegations.
“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,” Freedman said in a statement, referring to the production company the director cofounded.
Baldoni’s attorney called Lively’s allegations in the complaint “yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.”
Lively and Baldoni did not promote It Ends With Us together in any way — no interviews, no photo shoots — promoting massive speculation this summer over what had transpired between them.
Baldoni continued, through his legal team:
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.”
The attorney said Wayfarer Studios “made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film” due to alleged “multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.”
It sure sounds like Baldoni and Lively won’t be starring in an It Ends With Us sequel, huh?
In her own statement to The New York Times, Lively said the following:
“I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
We’ve got a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more about this in the coming days, weeks and months.