Explained: Blake Lively’s lawsuit against her former co-star Justin Baldoni

AMERICAN ACTOR AND director Justin Baldoni has had an award celebrating his solidarity with women rescinded, in the aftermath of a legal complaint filed by actress Blake Lively accusing the actor of “abhorrent misconduct”. 

Baldoni was given the award earlier this month by organisation Vital Voices. Yesterday evening, it announced that it would be withdrawing the award in light of the allegations levied against him by Lively.

Baldoni, through his legal team, has categorically denied the allegations, which include sexual harassment and inappropriate conduct, as well as a coordinated effort to tarnish Blake Lively’s reputation.

A bombshell story by The New York Times on Saturday described in detail how a massive online campaign was set in motion to smear Lively’s reputation after she accused Baldoni of misconduct.

It Ends With Us

Baldoni and Lively came to work together on the film It Ends With Us, an adaptation of the popular book by the same name written by Colleen Hoover. Baldoni acquired the rights to the film adaptation through his production company, Wayfarer Studios, in 2019.

The novel and film explore an abusive relationship the protagonist Lily Bloom, played by Blake Lively, has with older neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, played by Justin Baldoni. 

Filming took place in the summer of 2023 and the movie was officially released in August of this year. On the media tour for It Ends With Us, speculation began online as to an apparent frostiness between Baldoni and members of the cast of the film. Baldoni, despite being the most involved member of the cast in the project, did not participate in interviews or media appearances with the rest of the cast.

A narrative soon emerged online which was strongly critical of Lively during the press tour for not talking enough about domestic violence, promoting her own businesses, and for allowing her husband Ryan Reynolds to write a scene for the film. At the same time, Baldoni was praised online for his thoughtful contributions around domestic violence.

What are the allegations?

Lively filed a civil rights case in the California Civil Rights Department against Baldoni on Friday. Within the case, she accused Baldoni and the CEO of his production company Jamey Heath of multiple instances of sexual harassment during filming.

Baldoni has comprehensively denied all accusations levied against him through his legal representative.

She also accused Baldoni of retaliation against her when she raised issues about his behaviour on set, and alleged that Baldoni had hired a crisis publicity firm to conduct a smear campaign against her during the media tour this summer. 

As reported by NBC, the filing reads that Lively made accusations of Baldoni making inappropriate comments about her appearance, demanding that she be nude in scenes when the script did not call for it, and unexpectedly biting her during kissing scenes. 

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She also alleged that he and Heath, the CEO of Wayfarer, walked into her trailer unannounced while she was undressed. Baldoni and Heath are also accused of discussing their sexual experiences and “pornography addiction” on set and in front of Lively.

According to the filing, Baldoni “routinely degraded” Lively. She alleged that four months after she gave birth, Baldoni privately contacted her fitness trainer to imply that he wanted her to lose weight. The filing said that Baldoni had told the trainer that he had asked because he was concerned about having to pick up Lively for a scene in the film, when such a scene did not exist. 

Other allegations detailed include Baldoni claiming that he could speak to Lively’s dead father and allowing nonessential crew members to walk through set during nudity scenes. 

The ‘smear campaign’

The filing alleges that following the disastrous experience on the set of It Ends With Us, Baldoni and Heath hired publicist Jennifer Abel, and Melissa Nathan of the high profile public relations firm The Agency Group, to coordinate a smear campaign against Lively as the press tour began. 

Thousands of pages of emails and text messages said to have been between the involved parties were included with Lively’s filing, which she acquired through a subpoena. 

They indicate a sustained effort to damage Lively’s reputation and relish backlash directed towards the actress, The New York Times reports. 

Baldoni’s legal representative said that all allegations were “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.” He accused Lively of attempting to rehash the narrative that had developed over the summer.

In a statement to the New York Times on Saturday, Lively said that neither she nor any of her representatives had either planted stories or spoke negatively about anyone involved in the filing. 

“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,” she said. 

In the aftermath of the allegations, numerous stars have rallied behind her. Amber Heard, whose ex-husband Johnny Depp had availed of Melissa Nathan’s services as a publicist during their battle in a contentious defamation trial, backed Lively. 

“I saw this firsthand and up close. It’s as horrifying as it is destructive,” Heard said. 

Three of Lively’s costars from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, actresses America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel, released a joint statement on Instagram in support of their “sister”.

“Throughout the filming of It Ends With Us, we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice,” the three wrote.

“We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment,” they said, adding that they are “inspired” by her courage in standing up for herself and others.

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