Months after a reported rift between It Ends With Us costars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, she sued him for sexual harassment.
Within the lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, December 20, and obtained by Us Weekly after it was reported on by TMZ and The New York Instances, Full of life accused Baldoni of launching a “social manipulation” marketing campaign towards her to “destroy” her reputation.
Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, referred to as Full of life’s accusations “utterly false, outrageous and deliberately salacious” in a press release to Us, claiming that Full of life filed the lawsuit to “repair her unfavourable status” and “rehash a story” concerning the movie’s manufacturing.
Freedman additional alleged that Full of life made “a number of calls for and threats” whereas filming It Ends With Us, together with “threatening to not present as much as set, threatening to not promote the movie, in the end resulting in its demise throughout launch, if her calls for weren’t met.”
Reps for Full of life advised Us Weekly in a press release relating to her lawsuit, “I hope that my authorized motion helps pull again the curtain on these sinister retaliatory ways to hurt individuals who converse up about misconduct and helps shield others who could also be focused.”
Weeks afterward Tuesday, December 31, Baldoni was one among 10 plaintiffs who filed a $250 million lawsuit towards The New York Instances following its reporting on costar Full of life after she sued him for sexual harassment. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, which additionally contains publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel in addition to It Ends With Us producers James Heath and Steve Saraowitz, allege Full of life pursued a “strategic and manipulative” smear marketing campaign towards Baldoni (somewhat than the opposite method round) and “cherry picked” communications whereas omitting key particulars.
A New York Instances spokesperson advised Us it’s standing by its story and plans to “vigorously defend towards the lawsuit.”
Full of life’s attorneys advised Us the lawsuit was primarily based on an “clearly false premise.” Baldoni’s legal professional continues to disclaim any wrongdoing on behalf of his shopper, describing The New York Instances’ article a “vicious smear marketing campaign totally orchestrated by Blake Full of life and her group” through a press release to Us.
That very same day, Lively filed a lawsuit towards Baldoni in a New York court docket which mirrored her earlier claims, which have been filed in California.
Scroll all the way down to see Full of life’s accusations towards Baldoni:
Including Intercourse Scenes
Blake Full of life and Justin Baldoni Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Photos
Per the lawsuit, Full of life expressed issues about Baldoni in the beginning. Earlier than they started filming It Ends With Us, she objected to intercourse scenes he wished so as to add — which she thought of gratuitous.
The lawsuit additionally requested that there be “no extra including of intercourse scenes, oral intercourse or on digital camera climaxing by BL exterior the scope of the script BL authorized when signing onto the undertaking.”
Full of life alleged that Baldoni improvised undesirable kissing and mentioned his intercourse life, together with instances when he could not have obtained consent.
Blake Full of life and Justin Baldoni Cindy Ord/Getty Photos ; Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic
“Mr. Baldoni improvised bodily intimacy that had not been rehearsed, choreographed, or mentioned with Ms. Full of life, with no intimacy coordinator concerned,” the docs state. “As an illustration, Mr. Baldoni discreetly bit and sucked on Ms. Full of life’s decrease lip throughout a scene by which he improvised quite a few kisses on every take. Mr. Baldoni insisted on capturing the complete scene time and again, nicely past what would have been required on an bizarre set, and with out advance discover or consent.”
One other instance of alleged makes an attempt so as to add nudity to the script contains one of many last scenes of the film when Full of life’s character offers delivery. “Mr. Baldoni insisted to Ms. Full of life that girls give delivery bare, and that his spouse had ‘ripped her garments off’ throughout labor,” the docs learn. “ He claimed it was ‘not regular’ for ladies to stay of their hospital robes whereas giving delivery. Ms. Full of life disagreed, however felt compelled right into a compromise that she can be bare from under the chest down.”
Blake Full of life has sued It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment. Based on the lawsuit obtained by TMZ and The New York Instances, Baldoni’s alleged habits prompted Full of life, 37, “extreme emotional misery.” The lawsuit alleges that there was a gathering performed to deal with Full of life’s claims that there was a “hostile […]
Alleged Pornography Dependancy and Extra
The lawsuit alleges that there was a gathering held in January to deal with a few of Full of life’s issues about It Ends With Us’ manufacturing.
The assembly was attended by Full of life’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, and a few of her calls for that have been addressed included “no extra displaying nude movies or pictures of ladies to Blake, no extra point out of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no extra discussions about sexual conquests in entrance of Blake and others, no additional mentions of forged and crew’s genitalia, no extra inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no additional point out of Blake’s lifeless father.”
Full of life claimed that producer Jamey Heath confirmed her a video of his spouse bare and watched Full of life in her trailer whereas she was topless and having physique make-up eliminated — after she requested him to not look. Full of life alleged that each Heath and Baldoni entered her make-up trailer whereas she was undressed, together with when she was breastfeeding.
Per the lawsuit, Wayfarer agreed to the phrases she sought and acknowledged that, “Though our perspective differs in lots of facets, guaranteeing a protected atmosphere for all is paramount.”
Full of life allegedly advised the folks she labored with that the lads’s habits had improved by the Spring with the brand new protections.
Justin Baldoni initially appeared to don’t have anything however constructive issues to say about his It Ends with Us costar, Blake Full of life, as studies of an on set feud proceed circulating on-line. The drama formally hit theaters in August 2024, and Baldoni, who each directed and starred reverse Full of life, has heaped reward on his onscreen associate. […]
Breaking Character
Within the docs, Full of life alleged that Baldoni broke character throughout a gradual dance scene on the rooftop. “He leaned ahead and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he stated, ‘It smells so good.’ None of this was remotely in character, or primarily based on any dialogue within the script, and nothing wanted to be stated as a result of, once more, there was no sound — Mr. Baldoni was caressing Mr. Full of life along with his mouth in a method that had nothing to do with their roles. When Ms. Full of life later objected to this habits, Ms. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even interested in you.’”
Physique-Shaming
Blake Full of life and Justin Baldoni Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Photos
Full of life accused Baldoni of body-shaming her on set. “Mr. Baldoni additionally routinely degraded Ms. Full of life by discovering again channel methods of criticizing her physique and weight,” the docs declare. “Just a few weeks earlier than filming started and fewer than 4 months after Ms. Full of life had given delivery to her fourth youngster, Ms. Full of life was humiliated to study that Mr. Baldoni secretly referred to as her health coach, with out her information or permission, and implied that he wished her to reduce weight in two weeks. Mr. Baldoni advised the coach that he had requested as a result of he was involved about having to select Ms. Full of life up in a scene for the film, however there was no such scene.”
After Full of life caught strep throat, Baldoni allegedly supplied a “present” to attach her with an skilled to assist fight the sickness. “When Ms. Full of life went to fill out the privateness types, she noticed the skilled was not what Mr. Baldoni had represented her to be, however was as a substitute a weight-loss specialist,” the docs allege.
Blake Full of life and Justin Baldoni’s new movie, It Ends With Us, has confirmed to be a field workplace hit, grossing $50 million throughout its opening weekend. Whereas the forged ought to be driving excessive on the movie’s success, they’ve as a substitute discovered themselves embroiled in controversy as studies swirl of behind-the-scenes drama involving differing last cuts of […]
‘Social Manipulation’ Marketing campaign to ‘Destroy’ Her Fame
Full of life accused Baldoni of launching a “social manipulation” marketing campaign towards her to “destroy” her status.
Within the lawsuit — which included “1000’s of pages of textual content messages and emails” that Full of life obtained by means of a subpoena — a publicist working with the studio and Baldoni allegedly wrote to a disaster administration skilled, “He desires to really feel like she will be buried.”
“This plan went nicely past normal disaster PR,” the docs state, claiming Baldoni’s group proposed an idea referred to as “‘astroturfing,’ which has been outlined as ‘the apply of publishing opinions or feedback on the web, within the media, and so on. that seem to return from bizarre members of the general public however really come from a selected firm or political group.’”
Baldoni would “set the narrative for the social media marketing campaign,” per the docs. One instance cited was of an X thread about Hailey Bieber “that had accused another female celebrity of bullying ladies.” Baldoni wrote within the textual content, “That is what we would want.” Moreover, Baldoni additionally talked about Taylor Swift in conversations along with his disaster administration group, and a state of affairs planning doc from Baldoni’s facet famous, “our group can even discover planting tales concerning the weaponization of feminism and how people like Taylor Swift, have been accused of using these ways to ‘bully’ into getting what they need.”
After “almost all forged members selected to look in public individually from Mr. Baldoni given his on-set habits,” per the docs, he was allegedly “grew to become involved that the general public would uncover that “one thing is far greater below the floor,” prompting him to vary his personal social media technique too.
“After the Movie’s premiere, Mr. Baldoni modified his Instagram profile, cancelled lighthearted social media posts, and instructed his group to search for survivors reactions and help — all in an effort to rapidly shift his personal public narrative to focus solely on survivors and home violence organizations,” the docs state, when his group famous that “this shift is perhaps ‘too drastic too quickly,” he didn’t care. The docs learn: “Nonetheless, Mr. Baldoni insisted on a ‘Tik Tok technique’ and that his promotional actions for the Movie ought to search to amplify what he described as ‘survivor content material.’”
Allegedly Claimed He Spoke to Blake Full of life’s Late Father
Full of life’s lawsuit additionally alleged Baldoni had “engaged in different behaviors that have been surprising and emotionally distressing” on the It Ends With Us set, together with “[claims] he might converse to the lifeless, and on a number of events advised [Lively] that he had spoken to her dead father.”
Full of life’s father, Ernie Lively, died in June 2021. He was 74. The grievance additional expressed that it was “off placing and violative” for Baldoni to allegedly “declare a private relationship with [Lively’s] just lately deceased father.”
Blake Full of life and Justin Baldoni’s new movie, It Ends With Us, has confirmed to be a field workplace hit, grossing $50 million throughout its opening weekend. Whereas the forged ought to be driving excessive on the movie’s success, they’ve as a substitute discovered themselves embroiled in controversy as studies swirl of behind-the-scenes drama involving differing last cuts of […]
Allegedly ‘Didn’t Implement’ Correct COVID-19 Protocol
Full of life alleged that Baldoni and Heath “didn’t implement” correct protocol when there was a COVID-19 outbreak.
“Ms. Full of life was advised by one other producer that as a result of [Justin and Jamey’s production company] Wayfarer didn’t have insurance coverage protection for COVID, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath intentionally withheld from Ms. Full of life that she had been uncovered to COVID,” her legal professionals claimed within the paperwork. “Each Ms. Full of life and her toddler youngster contracted COVID from the outbreak.”
Full of life “tried to boost issues” in a dialog with Baldoni and Heath. “When Ms. Full of life expressed her upset that Mr. Heath and Mr. Baldoni had hidden the truth that she had been uncovered to a COVID outbreak on set from which she and her toddler contracted COVID,” the docs continued. “As a substitute of acknowledging duty and committing to security transferring ahead, they expressed upset over manufacturing days missed and ensuing prices.”
In her tips that wanted to be “met with out fail” for her to return to movie, Full of life made a request about COVID procedures. “If BL is uncovered to COVID-19, she have to be supplied discover as quickly as potential after Wayfarer or any producer or manufacturing govt turns into conscious of such publicity,” the request learn.
Alleged ‘Fixed’ Hugs
Per the doc, Baldoni and Heath have been allegedly “consistently hugging and touching forged and crew” on set. “When Ms. Full of life or others prevented this touching, Mr. Baldoni and Mr. Heath would retaliate by changing into irritated, chilly, and uncollaborative,” the docs learn. “The outcome was an unwelcoming and mercurial atmosphere for Ms. Full of life, her workers, and others on set.”
UPDATE 12/31/21 11.30p.m. ET: Justin Baldoni was one among 10 plaintiffs who filed a $250 million lawsuit towards The New York Instances following its reporting on costar Blake Full of life after she sued him for sexual harassment. The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, which additionally contains publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel in addition to It Ends With Us […]
Allegedly Referring to Individuals As ‘Horny’
The lawsuit alleges that Baldoni would check with ladies within the office as “horny.”
“After they expressed discomfort, Mr. Baldoni would deflect or attempt to go it off, which undermined Ms. Full of life and others’ issues,” the docs learn. “For instance, on one event that Ms. Full of life noticed, he advised a feminine forged member that her leather-based pants regarded ‘horny’ when she arrived to the set. When she rebuffed his remark as a result of she was uncomfortable, somewhat than apologizing, he brushed it off with ‘I can say that as a result of my spouse is right here at present.’ Ms. Full of life felt embarrassed witnessing this type of commentary, as did others.”
In a single alleged incident, Full of life wore a “low-cut costume to facilitate breast feeding, however had it coated up with a coat.”
“When the jacket briefly popped open at one level to disclose the costume, Mr. Baldoni commented about how a lot he preferred her outfit, which flustered Ms. Full of life,” the docs learn. “Later that day, Mr. Baldoni pressured Ms. Full of life (who was in her pre-approved wardrobe) to take away her coat in entrance of the crew and a number of background actors in a packed bar. He stated wished to see her “onesie” below the coat as a result of it was zipped low to disclose her lace bra.”
Baldoni allegedly stated, “I feel you look horny” in a “tone that made her really feel ogled and uncovered.”
“With different feminine forged current, she stated, ‘That’s not what I’m going for.’ He bristled and replied, ‘I’m sorry, scorching,’” the docs learn. “Deeply uncomfortable, Ms. Full of life stated, ‘Not that both.’ Mr. Baldoni, responded sarcastically, ‘I assume I missed the HR assembly,’ and walked away.”
After the incident, one other lady on the manufacturing allegedly spoke with Full of life to “supply empathy and to share her personal comparable experiences with Mr. Baldoni commenting about her in sexual phrases.”
Because the It Ends With Us drama continues to make headlines, outdated interviews between Blake Full of life and varied journalists are trending on-line. Full of life, 36, and costar Justin Baldoni had “artistic variations” behind-the-scenes whereas making the film primarily based on Colleen Hoover’s 2016 e-book of the identical identify. “There have been two camps on the movie — group […]
One other Alleged Sexual Harassment Criticism
The docs alleged that “as results of Mr. Baldoni’s habits, on Could 29, 2023, one other forged member lodged a sexual harassment grievance about Mr. Baldoni’s ‘gross’ and ‘undesirable remark[s]’ in the direction of her and others.”
Early within the manufacturing, the docs alleged that “one other actress made a grievance about Mr.
Baldoni’s feedback on her look. Mr. Baldoni expressly acknowledged her issues in writing, stating he would ‘regulate accordingly.’ But on June 8, 2023, that actress knowledgeable Ms. Full of life that ‘exterior of something in a scene, I really can’t speak to Justin in any respect.’ Mr. Baldoni later expressed suspicion relating to Ms. Full of life’s friendship with this actress, as in the event that they have been colluding towards him.”
Impacts on Ryan Reynolds and Their Youngsters
The grievance alleged that “the emotional influence on Ms. Full of life has been excessive, not solely affecting her, however her household, together with her husband and 4 kids.”
“There are days when she has struggled to get away from bed, and he or she often chooses to not enterprise exterior in public. Whereas she has fought to keep up her private life and enterprise pursuits, behind closed doorways she has suffered from grief, concern, trauma and excessive anxiousness,” the docs allege. “She additionally has been experiencing repeated and painful bodily signs because of this expertise.”
The lawsuit claims that Reynolds “has been affected mentally, bodily, and professionally by his spouse and youngsters’s ache.” The docs proceed, “Worst of all, nonetheless, has been the influence on their younger kids, who’ve been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways in which have considerably impacted their well-being.”
Alleged Damages
The lawsuit alleged that Full of life was set to host the season 50 premiere of Saturday Night time Dwell, but backed out because of the drama surrounding the discharge of It Ends With Us. (Hacks star Jean Sensible hosted as a substitute.)
“The consequences on Ms. Full of life’s skilled life have been speedy and substantial,” the docs learn. “Given the continued nature of the marketing campaign and the related unfavourable public sentiment, Ms. Full of life didn’t imagine she might proceed with public appearances or occasions with out being compelled to overtly focus on what occurred on set.”
“For instance, Ms. Full of life canceled a crucial Goal company occasion for her hair care firm [Blake Brown Beauty], and he or she backed out of her scheduled function to host the premier episode of the fiftieth anniversary season of Saturday Night time Dwell in September 2024,” the swimsuit added.
The docs allege that Full of life suffered damages to her firms as nicely. “Initially, earlier than the ‘social manipulation’ marketing campaign began, Ms. Full of life was knowledgeable that Blake Brown was Goal’s largest haircare launch on file,” the docs allege. “Based mostly on inside gross sales projections, the sudden and sudden unfavourable media marketing campaign launched towards Ms. Full of life depressed retail gross sales of Blake Brown merchandise by 56%–78%. This dramatic drop was utterly at odds with the excessive satisfaction scores that Blake Brown merchandise obtained within the important shopper testing carried out earlier than launch or its preliminary success after launch.”
The lawsuit alleges that Full of life’s different manufacturers, together with Betty Buzz and Betty Booze, “have been flooded by hateful feedback” which compelled “every of Ms. Full of life’s companies to go ‘darkish’ on social media in August.” The docs proceed, “Ms. Full of life did the identical, for almost two months, and through this time was unable to market or promote any of her companies, all of which depend on her help, inflicting points with many enterprise companions and clients.”
