Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni, alleges 'grief, fear and trauma' after It Ends With Us
Blake Lively is suing her It Ends With Us costar, director and co-producer Justin Baldoni for "severe emotional distress," and alleging "sinister retaliatory tactics" in an effort to smear her name.
The documents, which HELLO! has seen, and which were first reported by TMZ, allege a hostile work environment so bad that a workplace meeting was held on January 4, 2024 to address concerns; it was also attended by Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds and Wayfarer Productions' Jamey Heath.
"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," Blake shared in a statement.
Claims made by the Gossip Girl actress included inappropriate remarks during production by Justin, and repeat mentions about her weight and her father's death.
Demands in the meeting 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 sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew's genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake's weight, and no further mention of Blake's dead father".
Other requests included: "No more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project."
Wayfarer Productions, the production company, agreed to the demands but also agreed to disagree on specifics that had been alleged.
The meeting took place on January 6 and production resumed the next day.
However the lawsuit also includes the promotional period, alleging that Justin hired a crisis PR team to intentionally slander Blake's name and reputation.
The bestselling Colleen Hoover novel hit the big screen in August 2024, however, its release was overshadowed by the behind-the-scenes drama between the director, Justin, and the rest of the cast.
Justin didn't appear in any interviews or photocalls with the rest of the cast, and did not appear on the red carpets with anyone, and internet sleuths realized that while Justin followed his co-star Blake as well as the book's author, Coleen, on Instagram, neither of them followed him back.
"The emotional impact on Ms. Lively has been extreme, not only affecting her, but her family, including her husband and four children," the lawsuit alleges.
"There are days when she has struggled to get out of bed, and she frequently chooses not to venture outside in public. While she has fought to maintain her personal life and business interests, behind closed doors she has suffered from grief, fear, trauma, and extreme anxiety.
"She also has been experiencing repeated and painful physical symptoms as a result of this experience. Mr. Reynolds, too, has been affected mentally, physically, and professionally by his wife and children’s pain. Worst of all, however, has been the impact on their young children, who have been traumatized and emotionally uprooted in ways that have substantially impacted their well-being."
Brian Freedman, a lawyer for Justin, has slammed the allegations, calling them "false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt".
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Read Justin's full statement below:
"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, as 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.
"These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film, to work alongside their own representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.
"It was also discovered that Ms. Lively enlisted her own representative, Leslie Sloan with Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media, even prior to any marketing had commenced for the film, which was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional to commence internal scenario planning in the case they needed to address.
"The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity. What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals."
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Prior to the lawsuit details, it had been claimed that Blake and Justin had repeatedly clashed as producers, with Blake wanting a different cut to be released, while another suggested that Blake took creative control of the film, particularly after she revealed that husband Ryan helped write a scene in the movie.
Justin had been highly complimentary about Blake in interviews; speaking to People, he said: "She is a creative force, she’s an executive producer on the film, and she is so brilliant. And I believe that her performance is going to help so many women feel seen and showcase this unique experience in a way that I don’t believe I’ve seen in another film."
But when asked about returning for a sequel, he deferred to Blake, saying: "I think that there are better people for that one. I think Blake Lively's ready to direct. That's what I think."
