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The alleged conflict between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni entered a new chapter after the actress filed a lawsuit against him.

Why it matters

Film It ends with us led by Baldoni and Lively serving as producer, made headlines during the summer press tour amid rumors of conflict between the two.

The film is based on Colleen Hoover’s book of the same name, a fictionalized retelling of her family’s experiences with domestic violence.

In a lawsuit filed Friday, Lively accused Baldoni of sexual harassment and allegedly launched a publicity campaign to smear her reputation.

What to know

Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni and Jamey Heath, CEO of Wayfarer Studios, which also produced the film.

Lively claimed that there was “unwanted kissing” on set, and Baldoni often spoke inappropriately on set, including about his sex life.

The lawsuit said an “all hands” meeting was held during filming to address a “hostile work environment” on set, in which the parties agreed during the meeting not to show Lively or her staff nude photos of women.

“No further personal, physical touching or sexual comments by Mr. Baldoni or Mr. Heath that he should not tolerate.” [Lively] and/or any of its employees, as well as any female cast or crew without their express consent,” another listing agreement read.

Another demand of the meeting was to stop talking about “personal times when physical consent was not given to sexual acts, either as a rapist or abused”, also asking Heath to stop talking about his previous “addiction to pornography”.

The lawsuit also alleged that there was an agreement to have an intimacy coordinator on set, but it did not happen, and Baldoni allegedly changed scenes with little notice to include unplanned sex scenes.

At their first meeting on set, the parties agreed that “no more sex scenes, oral sex or BL camera climaxes will be added [Blake Lively] outside the scope of the script approved by BL when signing up to the project.”

The New York Times also claimed to have obtained text messages between Baldoni, Heath and crisis public relations experts Melissa Nathan and Jed Wallace. The article claimed that Baldoni and Heath hired a PR guru to smear Lively’s reputation should she go public with any of her allegations.

Other criticisms of Lively include that she was told the film’s publicity would focus on the main character’s resilience in an abusive relationship, but Baldoni focused on raising awareness of domestic violence. As a result, Lively faced a lot of backlash for not appearing to address serious issues in the film during the summer press tour.

“To this end, he and his team used ‘survivor content’ of domestic violence to protect their public image,” the prosecutor said. “Also, the public was unaware that this was the beginning of a multi-level plan that Mr. Baldoni and his team described as ‘social manipulation’ designed to ‘ruin’ Ms. Lively’s reputation.”

What people are saying

Hoover broke her silence on the Hollywood star clash with an Instagram post alongside a statement of support issued by Lively’s friends and actresses Amber Tamblyn, America Ferreira and Alexis Bledel.

“@blakelively you have been honest, kind, supportive and patient since the day we met,” she captioned the post. “Thank you for being exactly the person you are. Never change. Never fade.”

She also connected to a New York Times article that reported on the lawsuit and claimed to have proof of Baldoni’s concerted effort to create a “smear campaign” against Lively after she complained of inappropriate behavior on set.

Lively released a statement to the media after the lawsuit was filed.

“I hope my legal action will help pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics that harm people who speak up about wrongdoing and help protect others who may be targeted,” she said through her lawyers.

The legal team of Baldoni and Wayfarer also spoke for their clients.

“It is disgraceful that Ms. Lively and her representatives have made such serious and categorically false allegations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and her representatives,” attorney Brian Freedman said Saturday.

He accused Lively of making demands and making threats on set, such as “threatening not to show up on set, threatening not to promote the film” and alleged Lively’s outfit was “deliberately indecent with the intent to publicly injure and repeat the narrative. the media.”