Blake Lively accuses ‘It Ends With Us’ director of harassment, smear campaign

Blake Lively has filed a legal complaint accusing her It Ends With Us director and co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment on set, followed by an alleged campaign to tarnish her reputation.

The complaint, filed with the California Civil Rights Department, names Baldoni, the production studio behind the film, and Baldoni’s publicists as defendants. According to the document, Lively and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, confronted Baldoni and a producer over “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behavior” during production.

Lively alleges that following this confrontation, Baldoni and the studio initiated a “multi-tiered plan” to damage her reputation. This reportedly included planting theories on online platforms, orchestrating social media campaigns, and publishing critical news stories about her.

The complaint further accuses Baldoni of engaging publicists and crisis managers in a “coordinated and well-funded retaliation plan” aimed at discrediting Lively while bolstering his own credibility.

“To safeguard against the risk of Ms. Lively ever revealing the truth about Mr. Baldoni, the team created, planted, amplified, and boosted content designed to eviscerate Ms. Lively’s credibility,” the complaint states.

It also claims Baldoni diverted from the film’s marketing strategy to use content highlighting domestic violence survivors as a way to protect his public image.

Bryan Freedman, the lawyer representing Baldoni and the studio, dismissed the allegations as “completely false, outrageous, and intentionally salacious.” He denied any retaliatory actions, asserting that a crisis manager was hired due to “multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production.” Freedman also alleged that Lively had threatened to refuse participation in the film’s promotion unless her demands were met.

Lively’s complaint lists 30 demands she claims were agreed upon after her concerns about a hostile work environment were raised. These include banning the showing of explicit images or videos on set, restricting discussions about pornography and sexual topics, and prohibiting Baldoni from commenting on her weight or personal matters without consent. An intimacy coordinator was also required for scenes involving Baldoni and Lively.

“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,” Lively said in a statement.

It Ends With Us, based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, debuted in August and performed well at the box office with a $50 million opening. However, its release was overshadowed by speculation about tensions between the lead actors. Lively led the film’s promotions, while Baldoni took a more subdued role.

Responding to earlier concerns that the film romanticized domestic violence, Baldoni had stated, “If anybody has had that real-life experience, I can imagine how hard it would be to imagine their experience being in a romance novel. To them, I would just offer that we were very intentional in the making of this movie.”