Blake Lively sues Justin Baldoni for sexual harassment

Actress Blake Lively, 37, is suing director and actor Justin Baldoni, 40, with whom she starred in the film “It’s Like It Ends”, released in August. According to information from TMZ, the co-star allegedly committed sexual harassment and even made an effort to destroy Blake’s reputation.

According to the lawsuit, the disagreements began during filming. A meeting was held to discuss the hostile environment that the actress claimed to see on set. Blake’s husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, 48, attended the meeting.

Among Blake’s allegations are accusations that Baldoni showed images of naked women to the film’s entire female cast and frequently recalled his pornography addiction to everyone around him. According to her, the director also had a habit of talking about his sexual interests, genitals and Blake’s weight.

At the meeting, she even asked him not to add any more sex scenes between the two that were not in the initial script. The artist accuses him of joining a campaign to ruin her reputation, which would have caused “serious emotional distress”.

Reached by Variety, Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s attorney, called the allegations “false, outrageous and intentionally obscene.”

“It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and their representatives as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ their negative reputation,” it says.

According to his version, before the release, Blake would have made threats that included not appearing on the set and not promoting the film if his demands were not met. “Ms. Lively enlisted her own representative, Leslie Sloan, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant negative, completely fabricated and false stories in the media even before any marketing had begun for the film,” it states.

CONTROVERSY RELATED TO THE FILM

The film “It’s Like It Ends” grossed more than US$350 million at the box office worldwide, but the two protagonists never appeared together to promote the film, which sparked comments about a possible fight between them.

Blake worked as a producer on the film. Therefore, she asked her husband, Reynolds, to rewrite part of the script and remove scenes that made her uncomfortable. But the changes would have been vetoed by Baldoni, the director.

The film, based on a best-selling novel by author Colleen Hoover, revolves around florist Lily Blossom (Blake Lively), who falls in love with neurosurgeon Ryle (Justin Baldoni), with whom she develops a toxic, violent and painful relationship.