Blake Lively Is Reportedly Suing Justin Baldoni For Alleged Sexual Harassment
This post contains discussion of sexual harassment.
TMZ and the New York Times report that Blake Lively is suing It Ends with Us costar and director Justin Baldoni for alleged sexual harassment.
Gotham / GC Images, Araya Doheny / Variety via Getty Images
The suit claims that Justin's alleged behavior caused Blake "severe emotional distress," and that the claims were previously addressed in a meeting during filming in which multiple people were in attendance — including Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds.
During the meeting, Blake allegedly requested that Justin stop showing nude photos and videos of women to her, and that he stop telling her about his previous alleged "pornography addiction."
Blake also allegedly asked for Justin to stop discussing "sexual conquests" on set, to not discuss her body or weight, to not mention her deceased father, and for "no more adding of sex scenes, oral sex or on camera climaxing by BL outside the scope of the script BL approved when signing onto the project."
The New York Times also reports that Blake had alleged Justin had "improvised unwanted kissing" while they shot, and that producer Jamey Heath had watched her in her trailer while she was topless and having body makeup removed, after she already asked him to look away.
She also alleged that both Justin and Jamey had entered her trailer while she was undressed multiple times, including while she was breastfeeding, without being invited to do so.
In the suit, Blake also reportedly references a "conflict" over the marketing angle behind It Ends with Us, and she alleges that Justin waged a "social manipulation" campaign to "destroy" her reputation.
In a statement to TMZ, Justin's lawyer Bryan Freedman said Blake's lawsuit was filed to "fix her negative reputation," and that the allegations contained within are "false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt."
He also claims that Blake was "threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release."
In a separate statement to the New York Times, Bryan alleged that Blake planted “negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media” against Justin, which was a reason why Justin's studio Wayfarer Studios "made the decision to hire a crisis professional" last summer.
“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," Blake said in a statement to the New York Times.
You can read the New York Times' report on all of the allegations here. BuzzFeed has reached out to Blake and Justin's publicists for further comment — we'll let you know if we hear anything back.