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For months, there have been rumors swirling around the production of It Ends with Us, the 2024 movie schedule entry starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. It’s been alleged that Baldoni (who also served as director) and Lively were engaged in a feud after experiencing creative differences on set. However, neither formally confirmed or denied that notion. Now, Lively is taking legal action against her former collaborator, as she’s suing him for alleged sexual harassment and, with that, Baldoni’s legal team has denied the claims.
What Exactly Is Blake Lively Accusing Justin Baldoni Of?
Legal documents show that the 37-year-old Gossip Girl alum laid out a number of claims against the 40-year-old first-time feature film director. According to TMZ, Blake Lively — who was a producer on the movie as well — is accusing her director/co-star of creating a hostile work environment that reportedly led to an all-hand-on-deck meeting. (Said meeting also apparently included Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds.) From there, a list of demands were reportedly made out, which were allegedly approved by the studio ahead of the film’s release.
In terms of the demands related to Justin Baldoni’s purported behavior, it was asked that he not continue to show nude photos or videos of women to the Age of Adaline star or discuss his past “pornography addiction.” Baldoni was also reportedly asked to stop discussing his former sexual activities in front of people and to cease talk about his collaborators’ genitalia. It was also asked that there be no more adding “sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project.”
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum also released a statement, which was shared with the New York Times. It reads as follows:
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.
Aside from also claiming that the Jane the Virgin alum kept discussing her weight and late father, Blake Lively is also accusing him and his inner circle of trying to “destroy” her reputation. Lively claims they attempted to do so through a supposed campaign built on “social manipulation.” Per the suit, said situation caused “severe emotional stress” for Lively and her loved ones. Lively’s filing also includes a purported text from the director’s publicist, who apparently said the filmmaker “wants to feel like [Ms. Lively] can be buried.”
How Did Justin Baldoni React To Blake Lively’s Accusations?
Justin Baldoni has enlisted the legal services of noted entertainment lawyer Bryan Freedman, who issued a statement that was shared with TMZ. Freedman called the Green Lantern alum’s claims “false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt.” The attorney also asserted that the purpose of the star’s suit is to “fix her negative reputation.” With that, Freedman also alleged that the Town alum was difficult to work with on set and was even “threatening to not [show] up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release.”
Reports of a rift between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively began to make the rounds in August around the time that the film was released. Fans began to notice that Baldoni wasn’t participating in press engagements alongside the rest of the cast. It was eventually alleged that a major point of contention between the two collaborators was that the lead actress commissioned a second cut of the movie without the director’s knowledge. While neither confirmed that they had issues with each other, Lively did mention some disagreements.
CinemaBlend actually spoke to one of IEWU’s editors, Oona Flaherty, who didn’t directly address any kind of disagreements between the two lead stars. However, she did mention that usually during a production, there are multiple cuts of a film.
Ultimately, critics were lukewarm on It Ends with Us, though the film managed to gross $351 million against a reported $25 million budget. According to Blake Lively’s lawsuit, she also wanted the film to have a somewhat different direction, as she wanted it to focus more on her character’s resilience whereas Justin Baldoni apparently zeroed in more on the domestic violence aspects of the story. As of right now, Lively has yet to respond to the claims from Baldoni’s legal team, and it remains to be seen how this situation will play out.
It Ends with Us is currently streamable for Netflix subscription holders.