Amid the bombshell news that Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni, shocking text messages have been revealed.
Lively, 37, starred in the eponymous Colleen Hoover adaptation earlier this year alongside Baldoni, 40, who played her on-screen love interest.
Amid the release and not appearing together for any part of the press tour, as well as fans noticing some of the cast did not follow Baldoni on Instagram, rumours of a rift between the leads began to circulate.
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Until recent days, the reason for the tension was unclear, but Lively's lawsuit has offered clarity.
The New York Times obtained Lively's legal complaint, which alleges Baldoni subjected her to sexual harassment and further alleges he attempted to launch a 'social manipulation' campaign.
As per Lively's lawsuit, the smear campaign and his on-set actions caused her 'severe emotional harm'.
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Baldoni's lawyer has issued a statement in response to the suit, claiming Lively's allegations are 'categorically false' and accusing the actress of engaging in a 'desperate attempt to fix her negative reputation'.
Text messages exchanged between publicist Jennifer Abel, who was hired by Baldoni as per the Daily Mail, as well as crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, have been revealed as a result of a subpoena.
The damning texts show Abel telling Nathan that Baldoni 'wants to feel like she can be buried' - an alleged reference to Lively.
Nathan replied: "Of course - but you know when we send over documents we can't send over the work we will or could do because that could get us in a lot of trouble," continuing: "We can't write we will destroy her."
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Nathan then wrote another text, which said: "Imagine if a document saying all the things that he wants ends up in the wrong hands. You know we can bury anyone but I can't write that to him. I will, I'd be very tough."
Abel then follows up with mentions of her 'reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week about how horrible Blake is to work with', before adding: "Just to get ahead of it. She's putting us through hell."
A day later, on 5 August, Baldoni attached a screenshot of a thread on X which accused a popular celebrity of bullying which had gone viral, telling Abel: "This is what we would need."
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Abel then reassured him she had 'spoken to Melissa about this'.
Nathan's team apparently thought the strategy was a success, with a 10 August message suggesting there had been 'a shift on social.'
Nathan then claimed that the 'majority of the socials are so pro Justin and I don't even agree with half of them.'
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The suit also reveals that a meeting was held during filming so Lively could make a list of demands to Baldoni.
Allegedly, some of the 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 discussions about 'personal experiences with sex' in front of Blake and others, no more 'descriptions of... genitalia', no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.
Following news of the lawsuit becoming public knowledge, Lively told The New York Times: "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.”
Tyla has previously contacted Sony Pictures, Baldoni and Lively’s reps for comment.
Topics: Blake Lively, TV And Film, News, Celebrity
Kya Buller