The internet was left in a state of shock following the bombshell news that actress Blake Lively is suing her It Ends With Us director and co-star, Justin Baldoni, for sexual harassment and an alleged smear campaign which resulted in 'severe emotional distress'.
Baldoni, 40, portrayed Ryle Kincaid in the big screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel opposite Lively, 37, who played his partner Lily Bloom.
The hugely anticipated 2024 movie was a box office smash, but fans noticed something strange was happening behind the scenes as Baldoni wasn't paired with Lively for interviews on the press run, and people spotted none of the cast followed Baldoni on Instagram.
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Lively's lawsuit may offer a clearer insight into what the driving force behind the tension was.
The New York Times published the legal complaint of Lively's against Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios on 21 December, also detailing the contents of private text messages via a subpoena.
The messages appear to detail a plan to smear Lively's reputation, as strategised by Baldoni, his publicist Jennifer Abel, and crisis management expert Melissa Nathan.
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In one message, Nathan wrote that the 'majority of the socials are so pro Justin and I don't even agree with half of them.'
Alongside the allegations of a 'social manipulation' campaign, Lively stated she was subject to sexual harassment.
The suit claims she called a meeting during filming to make her demands clear.
Lively's demands included 'no more showing nude videos or images of women' to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction', no more 'descriptions of genitalia', no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.
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One of the more shocking details of the suit is that Lively claims Baldoni asked inappropriate questions about her sex life with her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds.
The lawsuit states that Baldoni attempted to add in a scene of his and Lively's characters orgasming together, with him allegedly explaining that it 'was important to him because he and his partner climax simultaneously during intercourse'.
He then 'intrusively asked Ms. Lively whether she and her husband climax simultaneously during intercourse, which Ms. Lively found invasive and refused to discuss'.
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This led to a further one of Blake's demands being 'no more discussion to BL and/or her employees about personal experiences with sex, including as it related to spouses or others'.
Alongside details of the lawsuit becoming public, Lively stated: "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.”
Baldoni refutes the allegations, with his attorney Bryan Freedman stating: "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."
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Freedman said Lively's suit was '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.'
He continued: "These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media."
Topics: Blake Lively, Celebrity, TV And Film, Ryan Reynolds, Justin Baldoni
Kya Buller