Actress Blake Lively has filed a lawsuit against her 'It Ends with Us' costar, Justin Baldoni, alleging sexual harassment, retaliation, and attempts to damage her reputation. Lively claims that Baldoni, who also directed the film, created a hostile work environment during production, leading to a confrontation during an "all hands" meeting. The meeting resulted in a code of conduct agreement, but tensions continued after filming due to differing marketing strategies.
Lively adhered to a marketing plan focusing on her character's strength, while Baldoni abruptly switched to emphasizing the film's domestic violence aspect. This led to backlash against Lively's approach and a wave of negative press. Lively alleges that Baldoni and his team engaged in social manipulation to destroy her reputation through a sophisticated press and digital plan in retaliation for speaking up about their misconduct.
Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, denies the claims, calling them categorically false and a desperate attempt to fix Lively's negative reputation. Freedman accuses Lively of making demands and threats during production that ultimately led to the film's demise during release. He also states that Wayfarer Studios hired a crisis communications specialist before the marketing campaign due to Lively's behavior.
Lively's representative referred to a statement in The New York Times where she hopes her legal action will shed light on retaliatory tactics against those who speak up about misconduct. Lively denies spreading negative stories about Baldoni or Wayfarer Studios.