Blake Lively has dropped a bombshell sexual harassment lawsuit against her This Ends With Us costar, Justin Baldoni.
Around the August premiere of the romantic drama, news circulated that Lively and Baldoni, who starred in and directed the film, had tension with each other. According to a TMZ report, the actress, who's married to Ryan Reynolds, felt "fat-shamed" while filming a scene with Baldoni that required him to lift her, and during another scene, the mother of four felt that Baldoni had kissed her for too long.
The actor-director would later tell Elle that there was "friction" on set, but in a new lawsuit from Lively, obtained by The New York Times, the actress alleged that their issues were much deeper.
According to the complaint, the actress claims that Baldoni tried to launch a smear campaign against her and that his actions caused "severe emotional distress" for her and her family. During the film's production, Lively reportedly held a meeting with Baldoni, which Reynolds was present at, where the actress demanded that Baldoni would no longer show "nude videos," make references to his past "pornography addiction," no longer discuss his sexual encounters, inquire about Blake's weight or other interactions that she deemed inappropriate.
Lively also requested that Baldoni limit "sex scenes, oral sex, or on camera climaxing" in It Ends With Us, and while all of the actress' requests were approved, she accused Baldoni of "social manipulation" and aiming to "destroy" her reputation during the press cycle.
Bryan Freedman, who represents Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company, responded to the lawsuit filing in a statement to Variety, calling it "shameful" that Lively "would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni."
Freedman continued that it was "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," Freedman continued.