Blake Lively Alleges Sexual Harassment, Retaliation From Justin Baldoni, StudioExBulletin

Blake Lively is seen at the screening of the film This Is Us on August 8 in London. In legal complaint, actor accuses co-star and director Justin Baldoni and his team of attacking his reputation after she spoke about him and an alleged producer about “repeated sexual harassment and other behavior worrying” on the set. Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP .

switch captionScott Garfitt/Invision/AP

Last summer, the press tour for the release of It Ends With Us, a film about domestic violence, saw public opinion turn against one of its stars, Blake Lively.

But behind the scenes, Lively claims in a legal complaint published by The New York Times that she was the victim of sexual harassment, repeated violations of her physical boundaries and a “layered plan” designed to “destroy” her reputation.

In the undated legal filing, which the Times said was filed Friday with the California Department of Civil Rights, she accuses co-star and director Justin Baldoni and his team of damaging her public image after the holding a meeting to address “repeated sexual harassment and others”. disturbing behavior” of Baldoni and one of the main producers of the film.

If the California Department of Civil Rights accepts the case, it could investigate, which could lead to legal action.

A lawyer for the studio, Bryan Freedman, said in an emailed statement to NPR that Lively's allegations were “categorically false” and “another desperate attempt to 'fix' her negative reputation.”

At the Jan. 4 meeting, which was attended by Lively, Baldoni, studio CEO and producer Jamey Heath and others, the complaint alleges they discussed the “inappropriate conduct” experienced by Lively and other cast members. and team. All parties agreed to a list of behaviors that would cease, allowing production of the film to resume, Lively's lawyers said in the filing.

The complaint says the list of agreed-upon demands includes: No longer showing nude videos of women, including the producer's wife, to Lively and/or her employees; no further mention of Baldoni or Heath's previous “pornography addiction” to Lively or other crew members; more descriptions of their own genitals to Lively; and “no more adding sex scenes, oral sex or climax on camera by [Lively] outside the scope of the script approved by BL when signing the project.

Baldoni and Heath's studio, Wayfarer, also agreed to provide an on-set privacy coordinator at all times, as well as other safeguards on set, according to the filing. The studio also agreed not to retaliate against Lively, it said.

Director and It Ends with Us star Justin Baldoni attends the film's world premiere on August 6 in New York. Evan Agostini/AP/Invision .

switch captionEvan Agostini/AP/Invision

The complaint includes excerpts of text messages and emails between Baldoni and his representatives that Lively's lawyers said they obtained through a subpoena.

The film, adapted from the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, is based on the relationship between the author's parents. Lively plays Lily Bloom, a florist who falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni). During the course of their relationship, Kincaid became physically and emotionally abusive.

The complaint states that Lively, a producer of the film, was contracted to follow a marketing plan that directed the actors to focus “more on Lily's strength and resilience rather than depicting the film as a story of domestic violence” and to avoid representations. calling the film “sad or heavy, it is a story of hope,” the complaint states.

While promoting the film, Lively received backlash from fans for her attempts to talk about a domestic violence storyline with a light-hearted tone. Many comments on social networks welcomed Baldoni's promotional message inviting viewers to always have hope.

At that time, according to the complaint, Baldoni and his team were carrying out a well-funded plan “in retaliation for Ms. Lively exercising her legally protected right to speak out about their misconduct on set, with the added goal of intimidate and intimidate him.” no one else to reveal in public what really happened. »

The filing says Baldoni hired a crisis communications specialist who allegedly hatched a plan to change the narrative on social media in the director's favor in a way that could not be attributed to the studio team. The text exchanges between Baldoni and Wayfarer's public relations team allegedly discussed the creation and amplification of misleading stories intended to discredit Lively, according to the actress' legal team.

“He wants to feel like she can be buried,” wrote Jennifer Abel, Baldoni’s publicist, in an Aug. 2 message to crisis management specialist Melissa Nathan, excerpted from the complaint.

Freedman, the studio's lawyer, said in a statement to NPR that Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager ahead of the film's marketing campaign, “due to multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production, including her threats.” of not showing up on set, threatening not to promote the film, ultimately leading to his demise upon release, if his demands were not met.

“What is conspicuously missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is evidence that no proactive steps were taken with the media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize, this which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals,” Freedman added.

Chloe Veltman contributed reporting.

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