Hollywood actress Blake Lively, also known as Gossip Girl has accused her co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment on the sets of their recently released movie It Ends With Us. The actress has filed an official complaint with the California Civil Rights Department alleging the actor of creating a hostile work environment and trying to ruin her reputation after she expressed her concerns.
The 80-page-long complaint contains detailed accusations against Justin Baldoni and others including Wayfarer Studios, Jamey Heath, Steve Sarowitz, Melissa Nathan, The Agency Group PR, Jennifer Abel, RWA Communications, Jed Wallace, and Street Relations Inc. In a conversation with The New York Times, Blake stated, “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.”
The actor faced instances of sexual harassment which included “showing nude videos or images of women” to her. The complaint had multiple other instances and also stated that, “Mr. Baldoni insisted on shooting the full scene over and over again, well beyond what would have been required on an ordinary set, and without advance notice or consent”. It also allegedly claimed that the actor went out of character while they filmed a slow dance show stating that “at one point, he (Justin) leaned forward and slowly dragged his lips from her ear and down her neck as he said, ‘it smells so good'”. None of this was remotely in character, or based on any dialogue in the script, and nothing needed to be said because, again, there was no sound”. The complaint added that, “Mr. Baldoni was caressing Ms. Lively with his mouth in a way that had nothing to do with their roles. When Ms. Lively later objected to this behavior, Mr. Baldoni’s response was, ‘I’m not even attracted to you'”.
As per the complaint, the actress and her team put forward their concerns after repeated harassment and had a meeting with Justin Baldoni and producer Jamey Heath on January 4th. They discussed the behavior of the actor and according to the complaint, neither of them denied and agreed to end the behavior. They laid 30 points for both the parties to follow, few of which included:
- No more showing nude videos or images of women to Lively or her employees.
- No more mention of Baldoni and Heath’s previous “pornography addiction” or Lively’s lack of pornography consumption to her or other crew members.
- No more discussions to Lively and her employees about “personal experiences with sex as it relates to spouses”.
- No more descriptions of their own genitalia to Lively.
- No more inquiries to Lively’s trainer about her weight.
- No more personal, physical touching or sexual comments by Baldoni or Heath to Lively or others.
- No more improvising of kissing.
- Lively to have a representative on set to monitor any nudity, sex or violence with Baldoni.
- No more entering Lively’s trailer while she is naked.
- No more adding of sex scenes or oral sex.
Along with allegations of sexual harassment, it also accuses the actor and his PR team of organizing a smear campaign against the actress where they designed a “multi-tiered plan” to “destroy” her reputation. The complaint contains the screenshots of texts and emails that Blake obtained through a subpoena. Revealing sensitive information, the texts are majorly between the actor, Melissa Nathan, founder of The Agency Group PR, and Jennifer Abel whom the actor hired as a part of his PR team. The screenshots, included in the complaint which is also available on The New York Times, have messages that suggest malicious intent, with texts from Melissa Nathan. One of them read, “You know we can bury anyone”.
Representing Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and all its representatives, Bryan Freedman called the allegations “categorically false.” He said that, “These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media,” and that this is “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.”
Post the movie release, Blake Lively claimed to expereince a vast campaign for being tone-deaf, difficult to work with, and a bully, which impacted her and her family emotionally. She also claims that the marketing plan of the film stated to focus on it as the “story of hope” instead of domestic violence, but Baldoni “abruptly pivoted away from the film’s marketing plan.” Fans also suspected behind-the-scenes drama when both the co-stars arrived at the stage seperately.
After the complaint was made official, several stars inclduing Colleen Hoover has come to support Blake Lively. The author posted a story on her Instagram tagging the actress and stating, “@BlakeLively you have been nothing but honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met. Thank you for being exactly the human that you are. Never change. Never wilt.” followed by a post.
The co-cast of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Bledel also released their joint statement which stated, “We are struck by the reality that even if a woman is as strong, celebrated, and resourced as our friend Blake, she can face forceful retaliation for daring to ask for a safe working environment”.
The movie It Ends With Us was released on 9th August 2024, and was based on the Colleen Hoover Book of the same title. The movie revolves around Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) and her abusive relationship with a neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid (Justin Baldoni).